Category: Wisdom

Application: the act of putting something into operation.

There was a particularly hairy man at the pool one day…which was unfortunate. For earlier in the day, as fate would have it, my wife and then 6-year old son William had had a conversation about cavemen. [clouds forming] So when William’s gaze fell upon the particularly hairy man, he exclaimed, “Look mom, a caveman!” Wanting to crawl under a rock, my wife, reluctantly, looked in the direction of William’s outstretched arm and pointed finger. And there he stood. The particularly hairy man. [slight rolling of thunder] And before she can apologize to this mildly wounded soul, William delivers the coup de grace, “Hey man, I thought you guys were extinct?!” [full-blown storm] That was five years ago and at least three of us are still laughing. Possibly – doubtfully – a fourth. We’ll likely never know.

On a particularly rainy day in Nashville, I commented to a young friend of mine that it was raining cats and dogs. He looked at me like I had five heads. Recognizing the disconnect, I explained America’s use of idioms to my South Korean friend. We had fun with a few others: barking up the wrong tree, counting one’s chickens before they hatch, beating a dead horse, and letting sleeping dogs lie. I had to further explain that not all idioms dealt with animals.

So here we are just a few days from Mother’s Day. And while I’m tempted to pen another post on Social Security, I’ll refrain and speak to a more pressing matter – getting the right gift for mom. With this being a financial blog, I’ll try to keep budgets in mind. But if there are times when you can bust the budget a little, this would be one of them. (Right up there with tickets to The Cure or maybe a Zero Turn Husqvarna 967 Mower.) I don’t know your mother or the mother of your child, but here’s what I do know: She’s a girl. Therefore, she wants to feel special.