"Aaaaeeeiiieeee!! EvAN! That's MY seat!!"
"Evan, as a personal favor to me, could you please, please PLEASE let her sit there? I know she's tired and whiny, but I just want to get through these banana smoothies without a fight. Please?"
Evan relented with a huff and a sigh but Justin's indignation would not be so silent.
"I hate that! I hate that she always gets her way! That is SO unfair!"
"Justin, this is not about you..."
"She ALWAYS gets her way. She just has to whine a little and you let her do whatever she wants!"
"That is not true. And when you were 4, you whined just as much as she did and we had to work our lives around it, too. Now that you're older..."
"It's NOT FAIR."
"Life isn't fair!"
"You ALWAYS SAY THAT!"
"That's because it's ALWAYS true!"
"Arrggghh!! Just, just... NEVER MIND. You just don't understand!"
"Wrong, kiddo. I DO understand. I too had a little sister who whined when she was 4 and I too had a mother who just wanted to get through a meal without an argument. I had to give in and give up and it wasn't 'fair' but LIFE ISN'T FAIR."
"You already said that!"
"That's because it's ALWAYS true! You know what isn't fair? It isn't fair that there are kids who can't argue over who gets to sit at the special chair for their banana smoothies because they don't HAVE chairs or the money to buy a banana smoothie. It's not fair that children are homeless and starving. It's not fair that there are children in homes without love or attention. It's not fair that you have a family that loves and cares for you but there are millions and millions of kids who don't even know what a loving family LOOKS like. LIFE ISN'T FAIR. Being able to argue over a chair is a privilege that I am grateful you guys are allowed. But it isn't asking too much of you guys to occasionally let your little sister sit in the chair after a loooong weekend. She is so tired that she slept on the freaking piano bench, kid. Now drink your smoothie and let me make my own in peace, PLEASE?"
And the skies opened and the angels sang their praises of grace and he was quiet and all was right with the world. And I drank my banana smoothie in peace as I typed this post.
Praise be.
2 hours on the piano bench and NO I didn't even consider waking her up.
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16 comments:
Whew! I think you made your point! Well done! And I love what you said. Life really isn't fair, but giving up your chair is not the worst of it. ;)
Good job, mama! :)
That is a doozie of a shot, lady.
We order our lives around the whims of a 3 year old because of her imperial manner. She was perhaps meant to be royalty.
Cool. That's the old "Kids in Europe are starving", that I grew up with, on steroids.
That was a great way to explain unfairness without focusing too much on the issue at hand.
We live in a joint family and the youngest three form a gang, where my daughter (2 years) is between my two nephews (one year and six years). So, we see a lot of the not fair episodes, with the 'my chair' one being fairly common. Occasionally, the older kids (nine, eleven, fourteen and fifteen) join in just to make our lives interesting.
That was fabulous! You hit that ball right outta the park! YUMMY banana smoothie
Girl, you're my kind of mom!
Oh my gosh - I go thru this constantly! And I DO feel bad for my son sometimes, because I WAS the oldest in my family and I am only too aware of the unfairness.
In out house, it's all about who is picking up toys. She doesn't do as much as he does....but he didn't do it when he was three, either.
Lots of kids don't even HAVE this many toys, so can't they just be quiet and hand mama the remote?
That was totally perfect. I LOVE the piano bench nap. My mom has a picture of me when I was about that age sleeping on two dining room chairs I pushed together. Four year olds are awesome.
In this case, a picture truly is worth a thousand words. NOT FAIR that we can't take a two hour nap like that!
Well done. Shut him up.
My mom gave us the "starving children in Biafra" line when we were kids. Biafra being the needy African country du jour when SHE was a kid and she couldn't be bothered to change the name just because of a few civil wars and changing geopolitical lines.
Well played, Tracey. Well played.
And that photo? Needs to win a contest somewhere.
Ah yes the "that's not fair" conversation. Fun times fun times.
Nicely played, Mom! I have a picture of my then-4 year old sound asleep on a blue plastic hamper turned sideways. Yes. I walked into the living room (where he and his brother had been playing), saw that and thought "okaaaaaaaaaaaaaay" and took the picture. Years later his brother took credit for sending him to the hamper to sleep. (?!?) Kids are weird. I wanted normal ones, but you know what? Life is not fair.
Check and mate
I want a smoothie...
Sound like you had a video camera in my house. I wouldn't have moved her either. lol
I can so relate...and you put it so well. Can I use this on occasion? Just kidding but loved it. Thank you for sharing.
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