Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Tune and the Lyrics

Last night we were walking home and Jack accidentally stepped on the back of Owen’s shoe and the heel slipped off of Owen’s foot.  Owen was tired and irritated as having to stop and fix it, so I tried to say something that would take the focus off the blame on Jack- and hoped the boys would follow suit.

Mama:  “Jack, look how smart Owen is using the wall to help him fix his shoe!”

Jack: “Owen is really smart! He knows lots of stuff.”

Mama: ”You’re right.  And you are smart too.”

Jack: “Yeah, I am smart. Sometimes I know something, and sometimes Owen knows it. It’s half and half.”

Owen: “Yeah, Jack’s smart too!”

Owen’s comment surprised me because he spends a lot of time correcting Jack.    Jack is a big-picture/spirit-of-the-law kind of guy, and Owen finds the details more important and wishes everyone would follow the letter-of-the law.

Owen: “Like, he knows the tune and I know the lyrics.”

That little gem sums up my boys in a way that is so beautiful and poetic.  I will treasure it.

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