My dad is one of 10 children. My grandmother conceived and birthed eight boys and two girls naturally.
Ten individual pregnancies. No multiples. That’s a ton of kiddos, regardless of the fact that they were a devout Catholic family living on the East Coast in the 1940s and 50s.
With so many mouths to feed it’s no surprise that on many days my grandfather could barely keep all of his kids’ names straight, let alone be able to remember each and every child’s age, which is why I rolled my eyes when I heard the latest attack on President Barack Obama–the father.
If you missed the televised brouhaha, here’s a little recap:
A couple of days ago President Obama wagged his finger at Republicans, calling them “procrastinators,” who wait until the last minute to get their work done, as lawmakers try to hammer out a deal on the debt ceiling.
“You know, Malia and Sasha generally finish their homework a day ahead of time. Malia’s 13, Sasha’s 10,” the president told reporters at a press conference.
But, stop the presses… apparently, Malia is only 12.
Shortly after the president wrapped up his public remarks, the media had a field day accusing him of flubbing his daughter’s age — twice — in a single news conference.
Never mind that Malia’s birthday on July 4th.
Malia turns 13 in less than 48 hours from now, and as a parent of a daughter, who has been referring to herself as a 7-year-old since she turned 6 years and 7 months, I think it is more than safe to say that the president figured he was doing himself a favor by rounding up his oldest offspring’s age.
Why is this headline-making material?
Personally, I believe the newspapers and cable news shows that accused Obama of “flubbing” Malia’s age (because, technically the kid is still 12) are the ones who have it wrong.
Clearly, this father is astutely aware of his child’s age. What’s more, he was obviously cognizant of the fact that since his comments were being made less than five days from his daughter’s actual birthday “technically” doesn’t cut it.
Do you round up when referring to your child’s age? Or, do you regularly forget how old each child is?
And if you do, is it really the end of the world?
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