Barbs Kirby, special lady, died recently. The news brought some reminiscing, so I went looking in old sent mailboxes…
email to Barbs & Rip Kirby Sent: 22 March 2019 10:18 PM Subject: Chirpy wisdom
I suddenly had a clear moment in my fuzzy brain and thought of two things from way back when. And I thought “I must tell the Chirpies!” So here are the two stories I wrote down, you good people:
Story 1: When we first got infested with children I thought, What the hell are these things? They looked like a lot of fun so I’d play with them. Then for some unknown reason, they’d start crying and it was less fun.
Luckily, the Kirbys were frequent visitors and – with three blonde daughters – they were experienced. They said: “Always try feeding them first. Then see if you need to do anything else.”
Pearl of wisdom! That helped us LOTS!
Story 2: When the lil bastids started jolling I was on my own, no Aitch. So I started laying down the law: What you could do; Where you could go; When you must be home. Harumph!
Of course, they ignored it all, and just when I was about to start fighting with them, I suddenly thought: What do I want most? Their safety? Or to fight with them? And I remembered my jolling and how much fun it was. That’s when I remembered the Kirbys telling me they fetch their girls from clubs downtown or wherever.
“We fetch them from Wherever, at Whatever time – No matter where they go, we will fetch them, even if it’s very late at night,” they told me.
So I started saying “Where are you going please? and what time do you want me to fetch you?” or “Phone me when you’re ready, and I’ll fetch you.”
I fell into the Kirby method, and it has worked like a bomb! They tell me where they’re going. They phone me when they’re ready and I fetch them. And USUALLY not very late – often earlier than I would have expected and certainly earlier than I often got home in my day! Dodgy areas, sure. Same as I used to go to.
Right now, they’re snug in bed after saying, Love You Dad And Sleep Tight and all that shit that I never said to my father! Or him to me…
I love it. Thanks, Kirbys! Cheers, Pete
~~oo0oo~~
The Kirbs replied:
Thanks for the reminders.
Yep the bottom line is Trust. You are a GREAT father. So glad we could give you bits of advice.
Love you,
Rip & Barbs