Obstinate Father

*Let me preface the body of this blog by stating that my son Michael is 5 years old.

I got home just a little while ago from a dinner with friends. The family and I were spending some time together in the living room before it was time for Michael to go to bed. He and I had just finished giving each other some love and he was going to his room for his bible reading before bed. I told him that when he was finished with the bible reading, to come back and give me some more love. He told me “I already gave you night love”. I told him, I know that but daddy is stingy when it comes to love and I want more! My 5 year old son looked at me with such a serious look and said, ”I know that daddy because you are obstinate”. I was nearly blown away. I told my wife to look up the word right away. Not only did he use a word that we haven’t ever used around him that I can remember, he used it perfectly per the conversation we were having! If he was older, it wouldn’t have been such a shocker. I have always thought he was bright for his age and a little ahead of the curve, but to me this seemed a little far out. I know this isn’t breaking news or informative in any way to most people. However, I just wanted to share this tender moment that the whole family had a good laugh over. My son got it exactly right; when it comes to getting love from him I am the obstinate father! Not your typical 5 year old vocabulary.

Matthew Hilley


1 : perversely adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion (obstinate resistance to change)2 : not easily subdued, remedied, or removed.
synonyms OBSTINATE , STUBBORN , PERTINACIOUS , MULISH mean fixed and unyielding in course or purpose. OBSTINATE implies usually an unreasonable persistence (an obstinate proponent of conspiracy theories) tenacious and unwavering persistence. STUBBORN implies sturdiness in resisting change which may or may not be admirable (a person too stubborn to admit error). PERTINACIOUS suggests an annoying or irksome persistence (a pertinacious salesclerk refusing to take no for an answer). MULISH implies a thoroughly unreasonable obstinacy (a mulish determination to have his own way).

This definition was copied and pasted from www.merriam-webster.com