Always guess conservatively

I have learned in my life that if somebody excitedly asks you to guess what grade they got on a test, guess like an 85%. That way, when it's a 92%, it'll sound fabulous. If you would have ventured a 100%, then the 92% would in turn seem a little lackluster. When Brent comes home from playing basketball and asks me to guess how many baskets he made, 4 is a much better guess than 14. Because then the answer will impress. Just this week, I was the one that got to impress with the real answer. Elijah had his 9 month checkup. We were about a week and a half late with the checkup because our normally scheduled appointment on his actual 9 month birthday got postponed due to an extended vacation in Boise where we were waylayed with H1N1. So as we were waiting in the exam room, Eli was gollum-crawling around, pulling himself up on everything, trying to work the blood pressure gadget, and in general being a pretty typical 9 month old little boy. The doctor came in and welcomed us, commented on how well Elijah was moving around and of course how adorable he was. He then looked at the chart and said "9 months? I would have sworn he was 12 months based on his getting around!" Even though I knew the game, it still made me feel good. Yes, my 9 month little boy is performing at the level of most 12 month olds. Aren't I a wonderful mother? He's down to the 50th percentile of weight, but still in the 85th percentile of height, which makes him the same ratio of height to weight as Miriam was (and presumably still is) on most of her chart but I think that's off a bit because Eli is admittedly a lot squishier than Miriam ever was although it could be the difference between boys and girls... ANYWAY, at the end of the appointment, I asked for flu shots for both Elijah and Miriam. The doctor poked his head out the door and asked the nurse if she had vaccines for Elijah who is 9 months and for Miriam who is (at this point, he turned back to me and asked) "four?" I smiled and said "two." The girl is precocious and knows it, but there is no way she could pass for four. So here is my advice: ALWAYS GUESS UP. OR DOWN. Whichever is more flattering. People will always want to be around you.