Duck Dad

“My dad’s getting on my last nerve!”

I hear this kind of thing quite a bit. Amazingly its not from my girls but from their girlfriends. I occasionally end up driving their friends places without them.

“Mom, so-and-so’s mom didn’t pick them up for the game and she’s freaking out. Can you bring her up to the school?” or “I’m going to be late for work and I still have to take so-and-so home. Mom, do you mind?”

I always pretend that its shocking but not unusual that their father’s are annoying them. I know most of the dad’s, so I ask “what’s he doing now?”

“Well, he thought we were fighting but we weren’t and so anyways, he’s like, bla bla bla, you girls are always fighting! Bla bla bla, I’m sick of the fighting! Bla bla bla, I’m going to punish you! And I’m like, but dad we weren’t fighting. And then he goes, don’t lie and I’m like, I’m not.”

So I’ll bite.

“Are you girls usually fighting?”

“Yeah, but not this time.”

“But he heard loud voices and you two are usually fighting?”

“Maybe”

“Ok, I see two things coming into play here. Possibly your father has had a long day and your past history of fighting with your sister. Sometimes, if it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, its probably a duck.”

“Are you saying my dad’s a duck?”

“All righty now, here’s your stop. Buh-bye.”