One of the oddest things about being a parent is hearing your own phrases and mannerisms adopted by your kids. In our case, I have a habit of trying to get C to figure things out himself. If he asks me a question, I’m fairly likely to say "Maybe" followed by the answer and then ask him what he thinks. For example, he’ll say "what’s that noise?" and I’ll say "Maybe it’s a car. What do you think?"

The other day, I was working in the kitchen when C came running up to me. "My cup! Where’s my cup? I lost my cup!"

I immediately stopped what I was doing and started searching. The cup, you see, had milk in it. As much as we all laugh over spilled milk, it really can cause quite a nasty stench if it’s not found.

We spent the next five to ten minutes searching everywhere I could think of. While we searched we talked about it: "Did you have it in the bedroom?" "Mmm… I don’t know." "How about by the TV?" "Mmm… maybe."

Finally I gave up and said "I don’t know where your cup is." He sat down at his table, looking a bit depressed. For some weird reason (daddy instinct, I guess), I asked him "What did you do with the cup?"

His answer: "Mmm… Maybe I threw it in the dog’s bowl. What do you think?"

I looked and sure enough, there it was half-submerged in the dog’s water bowl. I looked back to see him grinning from ear to ear.

Maybe Daddy needs a drink. Yes, I think so.