August 27, 2001

DOWN HOME:
Make fun of ol' Daddy? Well, yeah, we do that
___"We don't do that." Our girls, Lindsay and Molly, have heard me say those words, oh, probably 4,362,895 times.
___We started this drill when they were tiny. And although they know right from wrong

MARV KNOX Editor

and get tired of me telling them, I still say, "We don't do that" from time to time.
___When they were little and we would hear words or see behavior that was unacceptable, I could not resist the temptation to turn the occasion into a "teachable moment."
___If we heard someone curse, I'd get their attention and remind them, trying to be quiet yet heard by my children, "You know, we don't do that."
___See a kid pitch a fit in public? "We don't do that."
___Hear someone belch and not excuse himself? "We don't do that."
___Fall asleep during worship service at church? "We don't do that."
___As they grew older, I apparently became more persistent. At least they seemed more annoyed with my redundant admonition.
___Joanna and I always have been fairly observant of the girls' TV viewing habits, and some shows still are off limits. Yet as they began to reach teenhood, we engaged in a tug-of-war over particular shows.
___Jo gives them credit for knowing right from wrong and reminds me they aren't babies any longer. They can differentiate the good from the bad, and we need to trust them to make more decisions. That's part of growing up and learning to be responsible.
___Still, I tend to be the protective (OK, sometimes overprotective) dad. So, when something on TV provokes me to climb to the moral high ground, I can't help but interrupt with, "You realize we don't do that."
___Not that I mean to be bossy. I just want them to remember the standards of conduct for Christians who also happen to be Knoxes.
___I think they've gotten the message. But the other night I piped up again, and they decided to tell me things Knoxes don't do.
___"We don't make crop circles in England," Lindsay declared.
___"We don't kidnap the president," Molly affirmed.
___"We don't build pyramids and refuse to explain how they got there."
___"We don't stand in front of tanks in China."
___"We don't rob banks."
___"We don't film 'moon landings' in the desert and tell people we're astronauts."
___"We don't go to the Bermuda triangle."
___"We don't fornicate."
___"We don't do drugs."
___OK. I get the point. I just want them to be able to say, with Liza Doolittle, "I'm a good girl, I am."
___Even if they do poke fun at Daddy.
___

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