By: Staff Contributor
"Just a minute!" I yelled, trying to get my kids to give me a second. They were so excited to go play downstairs, and I told them I'd take them in "just a minute." But you know how it goes. One minute turned into a few, and every time they asked again, I'd say, "Just one more minute!" They'd always say, "But it's been longer!"
I even tried to be clever. I taught them to count to 60 before they could say a minute was up. I thought, "Aha! That'll buy me some time." But nope! They started counting super fast, like little speed demons. The second they hit 60, they were calling for me again. It was funny, but also a little bit of a wake-up call.
That whole experience got me thinking about all the little things we say that don't always mean exactly what they sound like. Like "give me a minute." It hardly ever means just sixty seconds, right? It usually means a few minutes, maybe even longer. We say "I'll be back soon" when we don't want to tell someone we're going to be gone for a while. It's like we're trying to make them feel better, even if it's not the exact truth.
Think about it: "I'll come tomorrow" or "I'll pay you back tomorrow." We say these things even when we know tomorrow might not work out. Why? Because the person asking us for money or a favor seems really urgent. We want to help them, or at least make them feel better, so we say we'll do it "tomorrow" or "by the end of this week." Our hearts are in the right place; we really mean to do it. But life happens, and things don't always go as planned.
We say so many things without really thinking about them. We just kind of spit them out. It's usually when someone else, especially a kid, points it out that we realize our words aren't always super accurate. Kids are great at that, aren't they? They're so honest and literal. They don't understand those little white lies we use in daily life.
It's not that we're trying to trick people. Not at all. It's more about how we deal with everyday situations. Sometimes, being completely honest about how long something will take, or when we can really do something, feels a bit too harsh or awkward. So, we use these little phrases to make things smoother. The "minute" that stretches, the "soon" that takes a while, the "tomorrow" that gets pushed back – these are often just ways to be polite and make things easier for everyone involved.
But there's a flip side to this. While a little bit of wiggle room in our words is okay, consistently not doing what we say can cause problems. If our "minute" always turns into an hour, or our "tomorrow" never arrives, people start to lose trust. It's a tricky balance: using language to get along with people, but also making sure we're generally reliable.
My kids, with their simple understanding of a "minute," are a constant reminder to me. They show me how important it is to think about what I'm saying, even with small things. Their honest questions make me realize that sometimes, being clear and direct is the best way to talk, even if it means not always saying what's easiest in the moment.