When Granny Smith Hits a Window

When you are a 14–year-old boy and your father is making up a song and singing it in an Indian accent, you really have no choice but to throw something at him.

So my son must be forgiven for grabbing an apple and whipping it.

I can’t say I didn’t get angry. I can say that I didn’t stay angry for too long. I’ve broken plenty of windows in the house, after all.

So, halfway through sweeping up the scattered shards, I went to the kid, who was upset, and gave him a hug.

It’s just a window,” I said. “No big deal.”

In fact, the incident inspired me to free the sash, one of the few that remained unmovable because people in the past insisted on painting them shut.

But now I have to decide whether to do it “right” by taking the entire window apart, stipping all the paint, fixing the glazing, etc.

That’s a lot of work. Could my singing have been that bad?