The Father Called Poop
During the first rebellious phase,
my child started calling me nothing but "Poop."
Their resolve was stubborn.
For nearly a year, the "Poop" name-calling continued.
I had urged them many times to call me "Dad,"
but it remained "Poop" regardless.
Eventually, they even started calling me "Hey, Poop" in a bossy tone.
Fed up with the situation, I got incredibly angry.
I scolded them harder than I ever had before.
"Stop calling your father Poop!"
Those were the words I hurled at my child, who was crying from being scolded.
Their reply was
"But you are Poop!"
Sobbing until they were hiccuping, what they insisted was,
"But you are Poop."
No, I am not Poop. I am your father.
How on earth does that translate to Poop?
Even as the cold season turned to heat,
my child continued to call their own father Poop.
It is not that we don't have conversations,
Poop (no, to be precise, Father) and I.
Even after scolding them intensely,
the child's habit of calling me poop never changed.
Rain or shine, windy or calm,
I kept saying, "Your father is not poop,"
and "If you were born from poop, you would be poop too,
so stop calling me poop."
But they wouldn't listen.
The child had lost the timing to go back to calling me father
after starting to call me poop at some point.
At this rate, won't this child end up saying
"Poop, Mom, thank you for raising me"
during the greeting to their parents at their wedding?
It sounds like they're calling Mom poop too,
and it makes it seem like I've become poop.
I had endless worries about the future like that.
I was troubled.
How long will they keep calling me poop?
Even so, it's been a long time.
A year is a long time.
Will they keep calling me poop forever... or what!?
Huh? You're back to calling me Dad.
I mean, you've become incredibly clingy.
You've become such a daddy's girl.
What the heck, I was so worried and stressed out.
My child, do not forget the days you kept calling your father
poop.
The father you are clinging to so much right now was once
poop.