Never Say No

Once upon a time, when I lived in Pontiac, IL, my church had a Mother-Daughter Banquet.  I was invited to sing as part of the entertainment.  I wish my memory were better about that whole thing, but as I remember it, I was somehow encouraged to sing a song from The Fantastiks, "Never Say No".  I had never seen the Fantastiks, nor did I have any sheet music for it, but the song seemed to fit the occasion.  I scrambled to find a way to get the song to the pianist (the Internet didn't exist back then)...and she did the rest.  In short order, she had the song down, even if she had to improvise!

Here is the song I sang:

 Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Dog's got to bark, a mule's got to bray.
Soldiers must fight and preachers must pray.
And children, I guess, must get their own way
The minute that you say no.

Why did the kids pour jam on the cat?
Raspberry jam all over the cat?
Why should the kids do something like that,
When all that we said was no?

My son was once afraid to swim.
The water made him wince.
Until I said he mustn't swim:
S'been swimmin' ever since!
S'been swimmin' ever since!

Why did the kids put beans in their ears?
No one can hear with beans in their ears.
After a while the reason appears.
They did it cause we said no.

Your daughter brings a young man in,
Says "Do you like him, Pa?"
Just say that he's a fool and then:
You've got a son-in-law!
You've got a son-in-law!

Sure as the June comes right after May!
Sure as the night comes right after day!
You can be sure the devil's to pay
The minute that you say no.
Make sure you never say no!

I write this today because it is still true of my daughter, today!  When I sang the song, she was probably 7 or 8.  Now, she's 35 and still stubborn beyond belief!  (She gets that from her father, thankyouverymuch.)  God has blessed me with a beautiful and intelligent daughter, and two grandchildren who are equally as handsome and smart.  All I need now is to figure out how to maneuver through the rest of my life without becoming a problem to them all, while they continue to be a worry to me?  When do parents ever get to let down?  When do we get to say "no"??