onotob

How should one answer the compliments directed at one’s child by a stranger? My son Wisdom, the charmer that he is, never fails to garner praise from anyone fortunate enough to be caught in the presence of his dirty blonde curls and sky blue eyes. I usually answer with a polite “Thank you”, but recently I’ve been feeling the inadequacy of this response. Thank you? I’m not being complimented. In fact I’m hardly being looked at, dumbstruck as these people are with Wisdom’s grace and poise. It’s a tough one. John Cusack’s character in High Fidelity readily responds to obvious statements of “this is good” with a simple “I know.” I, too, know my son is fabulous. The mornings that I wake to his glowing little face are mornings not soon forgotten.

So, “I know” it is. Now I just have to make sure that I can say this in a way which will not make potential dates feel that I am somehow above them, for I simply already know.

Posted at 10:56 pm.