writers_muses - Breaking Point
When Clark was about four years old, we took him to a surprise birthday party at the Ross’s, for one of Pete’s older brothers. It took us quite awhile to explain to him the concept of surprise and what it required of him, but eventually the idea got through. When it came time to put the concept into action, I swear my overly enthusiastic son got more of a thrill out of it than the birthday boy himself.
That said, it was this momentous evening that led to two full months of surprises for the Kent family and all who came in contact with us. And by this, I mean to say that, for two months, every single time Clark walked into a room, he would shout “surprise!” at the top of his lungs and throw his arms up in the air triumphantly.
Any room. It didn’t matter if he was walking from the kitchen to the living room, it didn’t even matter if anyone was there. He was often content to run out to the pastures and surprise the cows, who were none too pleased. And of course his very favorite way of waking us up on Sundays was by throwing open our bedroom door and shouting “surprise!” (Which, once, actually was quite a surprise…for all of us)
And what was worse, we actually had to appear surprised each and every time he did it or he would plop himself down in the doorway and pout. It was a fairly exhausting process for all involved. Well, not so much for Clark, as nothing exhausted him.
The last straw came one morning when, as Jonathan was pouring himself a cup of coffee, Clark ran in yelling out his usual “surprise!” and causing Jonathan to spill the scalding hot coffee all over himself. It was at that point when Clark and I Had to have one of our “Mommy Talks,” as he’d taken to calling our one-on-one discussions. These “Mommy Talks” tended to be the only way to get any and all points across, seeing as “Daddy Talks” usually went a little something like this: “Whyyyy?” “…because I said so!” “But whyyy do you said so?” “Because….oh, hell. MARTHA!” My way saved time. Fortunately, my boys communicate much better now.
Anyway, I explained to Clark that surprises were usually much more surprising when unannounced. This seemed to make a fair amount of sense to him, but I added a highly effective “you’re a a big boy now and big boys don’t do such things,” which sealed the deal.
We were surprise-free for a good, long time after that. At least until the day Clark first got his heat vision.
Martha Kent
Smallville
448
That said, it was this momentous evening that led to two full months of surprises for the Kent family and all who came in contact with us. And by this, I mean to say that, for two months, every single time Clark walked into a room, he would shout “surprise!” at the top of his lungs and throw his arms up in the air triumphantly.
Any room. It didn’t matter if he was walking from the kitchen to the living room, it didn’t even matter if anyone was there. He was often content to run out to the pastures and surprise the cows, who were none too pleased. And of course his very favorite way of waking us up on Sundays was by throwing open our bedroom door and shouting “surprise!” (Which, once, actually was quite a surprise…for all of us)
And what was worse, we actually had to appear surprised each and every time he did it or he would plop himself down in the doorway and pout. It was a fairly exhausting process for all involved. Well, not so much for Clark, as nothing exhausted him.
The last straw came one morning when, as Jonathan was pouring himself a cup of coffee, Clark ran in yelling out his usual “surprise!” and causing Jonathan to spill the scalding hot coffee all over himself. It was at that point when Clark and I Had to have one of our “Mommy Talks,” as he’d taken to calling our one-on-one discussions. These “Mommy Talks” tended to be the only way to get any and all points across, seeing as “Daddy Talks” usually went a little something like this: “Whyyyy?” “…because I said so!” “But whyyy do you said so?” “Because….oh, hell. MARTHA!” My way saved time. Fortunately, my boys communicate much better now.
Anyway, I explained to Clark that surprises were usually much more surprising when unannounced. This seemed to make a fair amount of sense to him, but I added a highly effective “you’re a a big boy now and big boys don’t do such things,” which sealed the deal.
We were surprise-free for a good, long time after that. At least until the day Clark first got his heat vision.
Martha Kent
Smallville
448