Parenting can be so much fun

Last night we had a fun example of why good spelling is such a necessary skill.

We were sitting around in the family room watching a movie, when our oldest daughter comes in.
"Dad, how do you spell 'cowgirl'?" Now, I'm thinking, this has to be a trick question or something, but then I remember who's asking. Because of her struggling English skills, her spelling skills are dismal. So...

"C - O -W, girl. Why?" At this point she starts laughing hard, and sits down in her favorite spot in the family room. She has a huge comfort pillow in a corner of the room, on the floor. She actually dislikes sitting on the couch or the club chairs.

"I was talking with Corey on the phone and he was asking me what I dressed up like for Halloween." Corey is her big brother, a Marine stationed half way across the state. "When I tried to tell him 'cowgirl', he couldn't understand me, so he said for me to spell it. I didn't know how to spell it, I think. So I said "I think it's C-A-L-L-G-I-R-L." At that point Pam and I started laughing uncontrollably.

"Baby, you need to go call your brother and straighten that one out. There's a big difference between a 'cowgirl' and a 'call girl'."

"Why? What's that mean?" I'm in tears right about then.

"A 'call girl' is a prostitute, baby. Something I'm sure you don't want him thinking you were dressing up like."

"Oh, 'cause he was like, 'are you sure you have that word right? Where did you get that idea?' I told him 'Mom did'. Then he's asking if I'm sure again and again. I said 'yeah'."

Pam and I are laughing so hard we can't see straight. What made it even funnier was that we were at church on Halloween, because our church holds a "Trunk-or-Treat" event for the community and people dress up for it. Then we're having to explain to her little sister what "prostitute" means. The older says to her, "It's a bad girl." That doesn't quite get it, so I ask the older one to explain to the younger one in Amharic because the little brothers are there. She gets it then. Of course that's after one the little brothers asks, "What's a prostitute?"

She finally decides it would be a good idea to go up and call him again. After awhile she comes running into the room with her cell phone and says, "Corey wants to talk to you." She gives the phone to Pam. Pam is laughing so hard she can hardly talk.

When I get on the phone, Corey says, "I normally wouldn't want intrude and tell people how to raise their kids, especially you, but COME ON!" We talk some more and share a good laugh. He says he might be able to come for Thanksgiving. I say, "We'll all dress up for the occassion" and Corey say, "Yeah, I'm coming as a pimp."

Needless to say, it's times like this that all the troubles of being a parent, evaporate.

You gotta love it!

(For those reading this who live in the local area, be kind. Remember she's a teenaged girl)