There are times when I think my sweet little children's souls have been possessed. Ace talks a good game about being a good big sister and usually lives up to the hype. But she also seems to derive pleasure from intentionally torturing her brother.
It's usually something small. Zee makes a point to call something blue when it might really be teal. Ace relentlessly counters him until he breaks down yelling and crying, "No it's not!" or I explode.
Today, after running errands for way too long, possibly driven to malicious entertainment to avoid fatigue or boredom, Ace started to slyly rearrange items in the cart Zee had wanted in a specific place. He'd notice and progressively with more volume and angst yell at her to, "put it back!" as she giggled and twirled away.
His meltdown moved from yelling at Ace to throwing something at the cashier to clinging obsessively to me on the way to the car. I made a mental list of "happy Zee" contingency plans in case he didn't fall asleep on the ride home.
As I pulled out of the parking lot, the mood in the backseat shifted though. Ace began quietly and gently asking Zee a litany of simple "what's your favorite____?" questions...
Number? Ten.
Color? Red.
Food? Mac n cheese.
Musical instrument? Drums.
Car? Daddy's.
She had taken him and me, in a few minutes with her soothing interview, from on the edge to at peace. My muscles relaxed, a little, as I happily eavesdropped, stifling a few awed giggles as her questioned produced a few unintended responses...
A: Who are your favorites cousins?
Z: Ayden and Jackson.
A: They're not cousins; they're friends.
Z: And neighbors.
A: Okay, what's your favorite fish?
Z: A cardinal.
A: That's not a fish; that's a bird.
Z: Oh, yeah, right.
A: What about sharks? Do you like sharks?
Z: Sharks? Um, no. They're mean and bite us.
A: What fish do you like?
Z:
A: Do you like dolphins? They are like fish.
Z: Dolphins? I like dolphins.
A: Could they be your favorite fish? Dolphins?
Z: Um, yes. They are happy and don't bite us.
Thank goodness for dolphins.
©Erin Croley
His meltdown moved from yelling at Ace to throwing something at the cashier to clinging obsessively to me on the way to the car. I made a mental list of "happy Zee" contingency plans in case he didn't fall asleep on the ride home.
As I pulled out of the parking lot, the mood in the backseat shifted though. Ace began quietly and gently asking Zee a litany of simple "what's your favorite____?" questions...
Number? Ten.
Color? Red.
Food? Mac n cheese.
Musical instrument? Drums.
Car? Daddy's.
She had taken him and me, in a few minutes with her soothing interview, from on the edge to at peace. My muscles relaxed, a little, as I happily eavesdropped, stifling a few awed giggles as her questioned produced a few unintended responses...
A: Who are your favorites cousins?
Z: Ayden and Jackson.
A: They're not cousins; they're friends.
Z: And neighbors.
A: Okay, what's your favorite fish?
Z: A cardinal.
A: That's not a fish; that's a bird.
Z: Oh, yeah, right.
A: What about sharks? Do you like sharks?
Z: Sharks? Um, no. They're mean and bite us.
A: What fish do you like?
Z:
A: Do you like dolphins? They are like fish.
Z: Dolphins? I like dolphins.
A: Could they be your favorite fish? Dolphins?
Z: Um, yes. They are happy and don't bite us.
Thank goodness for dolphins.
©Erin Croley
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