Saying Silly Things

So, I was recently having a conversation with a very bright young man and he asked a very good question: "Daddy, how come we park in our driveway? It isn't enough room to drive on." The inquisitor has a point. Although only 5 years-old, he could smell an oxymoron a mile away. He concluded his inquiry by stating, "That's silly, Daddy."

Indeed it is.

That interchange got me thinking about other silly things that we say, which often times go unnoticed. Little sayings have gone unchecked and sometimes they become part of our vernacular without really pondering their implications. So here are a couple others that I personally have said:

"That was seriously, funny..."

"That play (in football) was pretty ugly." (not in reference to Tim Tebow)

"Pick up your toys before you can have a treat. That's your only choice."

"If you're not officially dating, then I don't think you should be alone together."

"After that, make sure I get the original copy."

Those are somewhat harmless little slogans and phrases that we tend to say without thinking too much about them. But there are some things we say that do have bigger consequences and larger implications. Here is one of my favorites:

Stranger > Acquaintance > Friendship > Best Friends > Family

The title of this blog is a small and extremely succinct progression of interpersonal relationships. For most people they will agree right away that this seems to be the normal progression of how humanity in the North American and Western culture progresses to deeper and more meaningful relationships. Admittedly, there are exceptions to this progression. There may be certain circumstances that might prevent the progress, or that propel a relationship further along by skipping a step. Either way, most people would agree with this progression.

There is a popular commercial that is circulating on the Internet advertising Google+ called “Google+: Circles Love Story”. The commercial is a split screen of a man and woman using Google+ circles to define their relationship. The commercial begins with the creation of a “circle” of people and progresses from “creeper” to “maybe” to “keepers.” The reason the commercial is so captivating is because it points to the natural and often experienced reality of relational progression. It hits us right where we are and confirms our suspicions and our experiences. See commercial below.