Expectations, Interpretations,and Assumptions

As we prepared for Christmas, I asked my youngest, 15 year old Cameron, to help me wrap presents.  I asked him to get the tape.  He came back with duct tape.  He then proceeded to "wrap" presents with the duct tape.  He even put a bow on one.  He thoughtfully marked who the presents were for with a permanent marker.  Very efficient and expedient.

Living with all males in the house, I forget that their interpretations of words might be different than mine.  Through my experience, whenever tape was mentioned, I didn't hesitate to get the scotch tape, so why would my son's be any different?  I assumed he would know.  However, his experience with tape has been duct tape, because duct tape fixes EVERYTHING.  His dad has taught him well.

Although my expectation was not met with what I assumed Cameron would get, I was happy.  He interpreted my words and did as I asked.  His version of wrapping resulted in a much different look than my version.  That's ok.  He helped, and we had fun wrapping in our own style.

As we gave family members their presents, they got a good laugh.  It all added to the celebration of Christmas.