Time To Get Naked

To my son Tommy,

Some time after work today, I was charged with drawing your bath.  I had the water the perfect mixture of hot and cold and the tub was filling nicely.  You came in to watch and I said to you, "Time to get naked!"  It wasn't what I said, but more how I said it.  (Mind you this post is for a much older Tommy and if you decide to read these before your eighteenth birthday, turn away now.)  It reminded me of my college or bartender days when I tried to convey enthusiasm or excitement to the ladies as I tried to talk them into strip poker or skinny dipping.  I didn't have much to work with, so I resorted to the Irish gift of the persuasion to convince them this was a good idea.  I guess I was trying to convince you that taking a bath was the cool thing to do right now, because Lord knows with the day I had I didn't need any arguments or hassle.  Surprisingly it worked better on you than I ever remember it working in my younger days.  It goes without saying those days were long ago and far away and I was a much different person then.  It does go to show you, if you say anything with the right inflections and intonations and resolve, you can make people look forward to most anything.  Often it is not what you say but how you say it that counts.  If I said, get undressed so Mommy can bathe you, with the matter of fact tone that is apropos of the required task, I doubt you would have been so excited to get all sudsy.

Sincerely with love from your dad,
Leo