Serious parenting

Mr. Handsome and I take our role as parents very seriously. We think it’s of the utmost importance to teach our children what’s important, things such as playing in the dirt, washing dishes, saying please and thank you, going to church, and reading lots of books. Last night we added something to that list, something that’s just as fundamental as playing with sticks and doing chores, but sadly enough, is so often missed by many other well-intentioned parents. Last night we became enlightened parents.

We sat our children down and introduced them to the glories of Napoleon Dynamite.

The kids were spell-bound. And slightly confused. They watched (everyone but The Baby Nickel who repeatedly expressed his intense dislike of the movie) intently and somewhat blankly, trying to puzzle out the reason for Mr. Handsome’s chuckling and my hooting. Miss Beccaboo took it literally (everyone was being mean to poor Napoleon!), but Yo-Yo was able to catch the nuances and see the humor behind it.

The kids’ favorite part? La Fawnduh’s googly eyes.

My favorite part? Napoleon’s free-fall from the chainlink fence.

At the end of the movie I informed the children that we would be watching this movie every year between now and when they move out of the house. “Really?” they asked, incredulous at their good fortune.

“Absolutely,” I said. “I expect you to have memorized most of the lines. And I want you all to learn how to fall over a fence like that, body horizontal with the ground, feet waggling. Got it?”