at Elle and David!
I know - I was floored. I should have said these are neighbors and friends whose kids play with Will. Ed plays tennis with the husband regularly. But still... They asked us point blank at a picnic once where we go to church. They had been good to us during/after the hurricanes, so we gave our stock polite answer - that Ed was raised Catholic and I was raised Methodist, but that we don't attend any church right now.
Last year their kids brought over presents for Will. We were totally unprepared. So this year, we got their kids something and a little something for them. In our case, we gave them a bike rack you suspend from your garage ceiling for their and their three kids' bikes. We have one and they had admired it one time when they were over. Ed even installed it for them, which is no mean feat as I recall, but he likes doing that sort of thing. Totally appropriate, right? So again, I was floored. We were both polite about it, but after they left, I said, "So, are you gonna carry that everywhere you go in case you have trouble remembering a verse you're quoting?" He goes, "Now, now. You know they're deeply religious." I said, "Yeah, but that doesn't mean we have to be." He says 'they meant well.' I don't know - I find it deeply arrogant, myself.
And Katherine, I'm guessing that if these folks even know who Green Day are (their oldest is 10, so they may not yet), they'd be appalled to know I let Will listen to them, too, and for that same reason. Let's put it this way - the day after the mid-term elections, when I was walking on Cloud Nine and gave them a hearty "Hey! Beautiful day today, isn't it?" I got, "We don't want to talk about it" in return.