Drawing a blank

 

“Odd plus odd equals even." Sean, my son, informed me.  

I thought about that for a moment and then Sean added, "And odd plus even equals odd.”  

He was building a Legos tower on my desk.  We've been learning numbers recently.  He continued to look at his Legos tower while he talked.  

Odd plus odd equals even...  I had never thought about that actually.  I gave it a run through in my mind and... he was right.  And odd plus even... 

“That’s actually true,” I said giving him a sideways look.   "Where did you learn that?” 

“From Number Blocks.” he said continuing to look at his Legos tower.  “This is going to be a masterpiece,” he said with pride.

Have you ever stepped on a Legos piece in the middle of the night?  Parents will understand.

“Daddy,” Sean stopped and looked up at me, “Why is Hell bad?”

Oh my, that's going to take some explaining.  Where to begin.  And what to leave out.  I imagined a painting by Hieronymus Bosch and began to formulate my answer. 

Then he continued, "You told me that it was OK for me to say, 'What the heck' but that it was bad for me to say, 'What the Hell'.  Why is 'Hell' bad?"  He looked at me and waited.

I looked back at him with some relief.  He meant the word "Hell" not the place "Hell."  That's easier.  Why is it bad to say the word 'Hell'?

"Well," I started, and drew a blank. I looked up at the ceiling waiting for help.

After a moment Sean said, "Daddy?"

"Yah." I said looking back down at him.

"Do 'Heaven' and 'Hell' sound similar?"

This was getting complicated.


Calbayog City 2023

Calbayog City 2023