The Answer is "No" - But What is The Question?

It was a Saturday afternoon and I was at home with the three children, all of whom were young at the time.
According to the newspaper’s TV schedule, a show was coming on late that afternoon about teaching children how to say “no” to strangers. Excellent, I thought. As a mother of youngsters, I wanted them to stay away from strangers and not to be tempted ever by candy or any other enticement. Without being pushy, I had us all in the room with the television when the program began. And so, we sat down and casually tuned in to watch the show.
After a few minutes of discussion about saying “no” to strangers, the conversation changed somewhat. It went from saying “no” to strangers to just saying “no” in general. And then, finally, the program’s focus turned to relationships between teenagers and beyond. The talk was about saying “no” to “doing it.” Should a person wait for love? True love? Commitment? Marriage? What? When was the right time?
As one might imagine, the children were engrossed in the discussion. Then all of a sudden, Tiffany blurted out, “I’m confused!”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because,” she replied, “they’re talking about when to do it and I don’t even know what it is!”
Keep watching, honey, just keep watching.
Ah, the innocence of childhood!

copyright 2008 Sherry Shealy Martschink