Don’t Call Me Stupid

We were at the market and the boys were screwing around, shoving each other and various other forms of horseplay. They thought it was all hysterical. Larissa and I did not, however, and told them multiple times to stop. So when Boone shoved Wyatt into a potato chip display, nearly knocking it over, I blew up.

I said, “You heard us tell you to stop! You know what that means! So please stop being such stupid…”

At the mention of the word “stupid” both of their faces immediately turned to expressions of genuine hurt. Getting yelled at is one thing I guess, but getting insulted by their own father was a different level of emotional pain for them. I saw this in an instant and tried to figure a way out of it while I was already deep into reprimanding them.

I continued, “…stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…”

I wasn’t sure how to land this particular plane.

“…stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid…”

Then, I just brought it home the only way I could see.

“…stupid, stupid, stupid-movers.”

They laughed and agreed to try to calm down. I turned to Larissa and she said, “I wasn’t sure where you were going with that.”

“Neither was I,” I confessed. Emotionally, I felt like I’d just saved my family from falling off a cliff. Like, I was actually winded.

The good news is I can now call the boys stupid-movers and they think it’s funny.