When my siblings and I were young, there were many times that the decisions that our parents made were seen (by us) to be arbitrary, capricious, and unfair. These were often received by my siblings and me with the plaintive question: "But, why?!?!"
To which, the invariable response from my father was "Because I am a mean daddy!"
As I have grown older (and my father has gotten smarter - funny how that works - but that is another story that I will have to post some day!) I have grown to appreciate that "I'm A Mean Daddy" really translated into English as "Because I love you and sometimes I have to make you do things you don't want to." I am certain that saying "I'm a mean daddy" was not easy, nor was whatever it was he was trying to get us to do that we didn't want to do.
I'm sure of this because today, I realized what a mean daddy I am.
Okay, I don't have any children (per se) but I have Saga. Yesterday was the day that I had set-aside to do things for Saga before I headed back to London for my next trip. We did all the things we had to do (but that I knew she'd hate) in one big go this morning to get it over with. First it was off to the vet to catch-her-up on her her inoculations. Then it was off to the dog wash to have her get all prety-fied. Last evening I clipped her nails. All the while as she was fighting and whining, I heard my dad saying in my head "...Because I am mean daddy!"
Yeah, right! I'm glad I had a mean daddy rather than one who could care less! Thanks, Dad!
As for Saga, I'm sure she will get over it. Probably about the time she realizes that I am gone on another business trip and won't be back for a while she'll realize how lucky she is to have a mean daddy!
I hope wherever you are today you have the opportunity to appreciate the "mean" people in your life!
Don Bergquist - 24-February-2006 - Lakewood, Colorado, USA
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