As I begin to share my writing again, I thought “What better place than an Emmaism?” People really seem to enjoy them. Heck, I enjoy them!
As Marie and I were driving down the road the other day she reminded me of an incident shortly after we had adopted her. Emma was five and her teacher at Jenks West Elementary School in Jenks, Oklahoma had discovered that Emma learned best when she could put things to music. Add a little melody or beat to any information and Emma would instantaneously latch on to it.
Looking back, this could have been called “foreshadowing.” I mean, really. You’ve seen her dance moves, right? She would sing and sing, listen and listen, and dance and dance. If you knew Emma, or if you only knew one thing, you knew that music was very important to her.
With the stage fully set, Paul Harvey would say it is now time “For the rest of the story.”
We had gone with Emma to pick up Richard Scarry’s Best ABC’s Video Ever. This concerned Emma greatly. While she was onboard with learning her ABC’s she really didn’t like anything scary.
Scary. Scarry. Do you already see where this is going?
So there we were, in the middle of the Tulsa, Oklahoma Border’s Bookstore and Emma decides to make it very loudly, very publicly known that she didn’t want to watch any Scarry movies.
“Why do you want me to be scared?!?!?! I don’t want to watch any scary movies!!!”
This went on to the point that Marie and I agreed I’d take Emma outside so that she could compose herself and, maybe if I could find one, have an ice cream. So here I am carrying my new five year old daughter towards the exit of a busy bookstore and she is yelling at the top of her lungs… wait for it…
“YOU ARE NOT MY REAL DAD AND I DON’T WANT TO WATCH ANY SCARY MOVIES WITH YOU!”
Okay, parents; What would you be thinking? And people ask me why I am so calm around police now days.
Well, you’ll be happy to know there were no police that came and that Emma did end up watching the movie. She loved it.
Now if we could have only gotten her to eat her carrots.
