The other day I was at the park with the kids, and Gal Smiley found a long, sharp, pointy stick. She started to use it to poke and stab at the sand, and every so often it would come flying out and chuck sand and a sharp, pointy end towards her face. So I said to her, “Be careful,” something I say to the kids quite a bit.

And then I started thinking, she’s two years old, she has no idea what I mean by that. She can’t possibly understand what is potentially scary or dangerous about what she is doing — she can’t forsee the consequences. And then I thought, what do I really mean by, “Be careful”? I guess I meant, keep the stick away from your face, don’t pull it out of the sand with too much force, and don’t fling sand at your brother. But sometimes, “Be careful” means, “Take three steps back from the hot stove RIGHT NOW,” or “Do NOT wave that guitar around your head like a member of KISS when your sister is standing right next to you,” or “Go AROUND the pile of broken wood with nails sticking out of it, not through it.”

I hereby resolve to be more explicit with my Scary Warnings Of Impending Injury And/Or Death.