The other day, while watching a movie together, I noticed my son enjoying a candy.
 
As you may know, we parents have something to say, even if sometimes silence would be better.
 
Just like that evening, I thought I had a clever sentence that I heard somewhere and that I thought was clever, and that would hopefully make my son think:
 
Me: “Son, you are what you eat”
 
SON, immediately grinning from ear to ear: “Exactly, sweetly”
 
My husband and I laughed heartily. I couldn’t find the words. I laughed and hugged him tightly.
 
It’s smart to know when I’ve “lost”. I decided to celebrate his quick-wittedness.
 
Because he’s really cute.
 
And I didn’t expect this answer.
 
Some can just do it. I don’t, as I have already stated in the stories in my book.
 
My children can do it. No further sentences are needed, because most of the time I confess it to myself “I haven’t seen it like this before” or I just laugh and let it sink in.
 
Everyone has their own approach to dealing with “funny remarks”. When “verbal attacks” came from strangers along the way, when I was fairly new here, I chose to remain silent because I was simply surprised at first. Something like this remark here:
 
“You can’t refuse this journal of hope. There is so much suffering in Africa.”
 
In my bewilderment, I just kept running to get some distance.
 
I don’t think of clever answers until later.
 
Getting quick-witted answers myself makes me question my perhaps ill-considered remarks and the timing of my statement.
 
All the more amusing and great I found the following answer from Anthony Bafoe, a former soccer player, when he was once insulted by an opponent:
 
“You’re going to be unemployed in the near future anyway, you can work with me on the plantation.”
 
How about you? How do you respond to verbal attacks?
 
Diversity can be exhausting:-)
 
I’m going to learn a lot from my children, and that’s a good thing.