I have scarred my child for life. You know, one those little off-hand comments you remember from your childhood about leaving the nest.
Well, my 4-year-old told me last night she was going to stay with mommy and daddy forever. And then my father came out of my mouth. “You can stay with us until you’re 18, then you’re outta here. You’re going to go to college and go out into the world.”
Silence. A tear.
More tears.
“Honey, daddy was only kidding,” my wife says. “You can stay with us as long as you want.”
More silence. More tears.
Later, when my wife was putting her to bed, and after the 4-year-old acts up, more tears.
“I don’t want to go out into the world after first grade.”
I’m a heel.
Hold your kids tight tonight. Don’t say a word.