Awkward Moments

Our pastor’s message yesterday triggered a host of memories from long ago. He briefly shared some life experiences concerning his family.

When his children were young, he was pastor of a church in west Texas. He and his wife were hosting the deacons and their families at a gathering in their home.

I can almost envision the care that was taken to ensure that everything was in its place. It was one of those venues where the pastor and his family were attempting to put their best foot forward. I can relate. I’ve been there and I’ve done that.

To the pastor’s dismay, he noticed through a window that his oldest son had climbed a tree in the backyard. Turning to the younger son who was inside the house, he said: “Please tell your brother to get out of the tree.”

The younger son, who didn’t move an inch, yells his brother’s name for all to hear and says: “Get out of the damn tree”.

I can only imagine the sense of disbelief that the pastor experienced. Obviously, without fully processing his words, he responded to his younger son: “What did you just say?”

The younger son repeated word for word what he previously had said. It was kind of a double whammy.

I fully understand the kind of uncomfortable experiences that a son can create for his dad. When Craig was three or four, I hosted three colleagues from work for a dinner in our home. My boss who lived elsewhere was in town.

As we were gathering to be seated at the table, Craig announced: “Dad, I like Ann and Carol, but I don’t like her. The “her” he was referring to was my boss.

My immediate response was to ask Craig if he’d like to have a picnic outside? Fortunately he did. The experience was awkward.

That wasn’t the first time Craig put me in an awkward situtation. Around Easter time that same year, I took Craig shopping for Easter clothes. The store we went to was located in a small shopping center near our home. I was surprised to discover they had suits for little guys.

Like I said, it was a long time ago. There was a day when people routinely wore their best clothing to church.

In the presence of the sales person in the store, Craig said to me: “Dad, you know we can’t afford this! We are not going to buy it. We left the store empty handed, but it had nothing to do with affordability.

On another occasion, Craig and I were sitting inside our car at a shopping center with the windows down while we waited on his mother to shop. The car was my all time favorite buy from General Motors. It was a 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass -t wo door hard top with all the bells and whistles.

A man who parked next to us accidently bumped his car door into ours. He apologized, and Craig responded: “Oh, that’s okay. This is just an old trash truck anyway.”

The other memory that came to mind was Art Linkletter’s – Kid’s Say the Darnest Things. My paternal grandmother listened to his radio boardcast. I sometimes listened with her.

The flashback to that time in my life was like a breath of fresh air. It made me feel like a kid again.

All My Best!
Don