Words of Wisdom from a 4 Year Old – Hate

My nephew blurted out that he “hated” something. Something fairly innocuous. Some food item if memory serves me correctly.

I tried to explain to him that hate is a pretty strong word, a term perhaps better reserved for something truly loathsome.

“ ‘I don’t like it’, or ‘I’m not so fond of it’ is maybe a better way to describe something you don’t necessarily like, but isn’t really that bad. I ‘hate’ someone who would hurt you, but I don’t necessarily ‘hate’ celery. I just don’t particularly like it.”

A few weeks later, we were in his front hallway, getting ready to go somewhere. I was lacing up my Danners, and he says
“You should get shoes like mine. With Velcro. It’s really easy to do up your shoes.”
“Yeah so is tieing laces. I hate Velcro.”
“Hate is a pretty strong word uncle Thomas.”
I think I may have sighed and rolled my eyes. But he had a point. If you ever read any of my posts about the gear I make, you’ll notice I’m not a big fan of Velcro. But truly, I don’t hate the stuff. It serves a purpose in some instances. I just don’t think all kids shoes using it as a closure is a good thing. But I guess he pointed out that I am as guilty as anyone else of thoughtlessly blurting out terms that aren’t entirely accurate.
“Okay, little buddy. You’re right. I don’t ‘hate’ Velcro. I’m just not all that fond of it either.

(And in case you didn’t click the link above, it’s a good read.)