It was time to head back home. The walk with the kids at the nature reserve had been a little respite. Beautiful trees and birds, a change from lockdown telly and squabbles as we traipsed through the forest in search of a stone statue of a Green Knight which was rumoured to dwell in the woods.
On the way home Archie and Maisie were arguing again.
“No Archie! You didn’t see the Green Knight running past the bridge! Daaaaad! Archie is lying again!”
Archie had form with lying. But, I calmly explained to Maisie that he had changed, that he didn’t lie these days, not when he actually “promised to god”
Now, we are not a religious family in the least, but the day before, over dinner, I had explained to Archie that, regardless of god, he should only use “promise to god” for something that was true. That way he had a fail-proof way for me to believe him when he really needed me to. Of course, there was one big condition: it only worked as long as we could trust him. He would need to make sure that he always told the truth, no matter how small, when he said “promise to god”.
I said to Maisie that all we needed to do was ask Archie if he “promised to god” that he had seen a Green Knight running through the woods .
At this, Archie huffed, “No … I don’t ‘promise to god’…. I hate ‘promise to god’.”
I really enjoyed reading this. It resonated with me as my family were religious and I still fear putting my hand on a Bible even though I am not religious. There is something about swearing to an ‘invisible higher authority’, whether it be God or Father Christmas. I can visualize the scene and it made me smile. Thank you.
Thank you for this comment! I’m really thinking at the moment about how people link their own life experiences when they are reading, so to feel that it’s happening for someone reading something I’ve written is really wonderful!
And yes, it’s like – your word is not enough. Need a next level promise! There’s something about the fear of what will happen if we promise something knowing it not to be true. Well, if it’s God (or indeed Father Christmas!) that will be fact-checking and actioning any consequences then that is a promise you can more readily trust!
I hadn’t really thought about it in this way – so thank you!
‘Archie had form with lying. But, I calmly explained to Maisie that he had changed, that he didn’t lie these days, not when he actually “promised to god”’
I 🧡 the way you express this truth about families – the way reputations and expectations are created over time.
Thanks Nicola!
Yes, I love this idea about the roles we each have in our family! Indeed, the reputations as you say!
Hadn’t thought of this, but it’s really interesting!
Makes me want to write more about that!
Also, I’m going to stop using so many exclamation marks!
I promise!
I’ve made that promise about dashes many a time! 🙈