Know what my three favorite words are?
Nope, not “I love you.”

“Told you so.”

I have a little wood sign in my office —

Most people assume my kids got it for me.
Not so. In fact, it was my own mom.

I’ve lost track of how many times she’s said it. The irony isn’t lost on me as I get older, either — and it still irks me every. single. time.

But you know when it got better?

The first time I could say it.

My son was skateboarding, and I told him if he just did a kickturn he’d be able to keep cruising. He resisted for a long time. And then — magic.

He came over to the bleachers and said, “You know when you said…”
I replied, “Yeah…”
He said, “You were right.”
“Mmmm…” was all I said.

Inside, I was a cheerleader after the quarterback threw the game-winning touchdown. Or Elaine dancing in Kramer’s apartment.

Sweet justice.

I never rubbed it in his face, though. But he’s seen the sign in my office, and I think he gets it.

Lately I’ve had to remind him to write his test dates in his planner, check in on if he’s studying. And when he does, he finds the test easy and comes home with a good grade.

I merely say, “Do you see how the efforts of your studying resulted in a more positive test experience?”

Inside, what I’m really saying is, “Told you so.”

And one day, when he says it back to his own kid, I’ll just smile.
Because some lessons are best learned the hard way — and passed on with love (and maybe just a little smugness).

I don’t quite think this is limited to moms either.
Husbands — care to admit how many times your wife was right? 😉