You're not a glass-half-empty sort of person, darling...

Last weekend, at the birthday party I referenced earlier, I was talking to another guy who was talking about how he'd found that his kids knew him better than he knew himself.

For instance, his progeny noted that the words he and his wife used didn't always mean what you'd think they'd mean. For instance, "sweetheart" really seemed to mean "stupid" and "darling" really meant "blockhead." As in "Here sweetheart, you're not doing that right." "Thank you darling, I've got it figured out just fine."

The example I liked best of his kids knowing him better than he knew himself was this: he said something to the effect that their mother was a "glass half full" kind of person, while he was a "glass half empty" sort, but their son said "No, dad, your glass is half full too--it's just that you're sure someone's going to come along any minute and spill it!"

And he realized that was true: he's not a pessimist, he's a paranoid optimist! 

Those of you with kids, have you noticed anything of this sort yourself? Or those of you who are kids (yes, that's all of you!) have you noticed this about your own understanding of your parents? 

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