judging from the most recent conversation in a long line of similar conversations the duke is either going to be a criminal, a lawyer, or a criminal lawyer...
first, a little background...the duke is allowed one hour on the computer and one half hour television show a day of his choice...wingman is allowed one half hour on the computer and one half hour television show a day of his choice...if the other boybarian is around he too may watch the show of his brother's choosing...
it's a system that works...mostly...
except wingman's been sick with a fever and cough and thus has been lying on the couch watching t.v. for the better part of the day for a few days...which means by default the duke is getting extra t.v. when he is not doing something else...
SO, yesterday he comes in the back while i'm hanging laundry to complete a task he told me he would do at that time because he was going to watch a show first...fine...
"is your show over already?"
"oh, it wasn't my show...it was wingman's"
"um, what do you mean it was 'wingman's'?"
"he picked it, not me"
"he's been on the couch all day with a fever watching whatever is on, he's not really in a position to 'pick'...not to mention it's your favorite show...you picked the show, so that's your show for the day"
"MAMA, i did NOT pick that show!!...it's not my show!!...wingman picked it and i just watched it!!...you aren't listening to me!!"
"i'm listening...but no matter how many times you say it, it doesn't make it true"
"i didn't pick it, wingman did"
"good lord!!...you not only picked it, you were the one who told wingman in the first place that it was on, you reminded it THREE HOURS AGO on the television, you came in from outside right at 3:30 expressly to watch it, AND you told me you would complete the task i gave you at 4:00 because you were going to watch a show until then!!...NOT TO MENTION IT'S YOUR FAVORITE SHOW!!"
silence....just as i thought...
i hate this kinda bullshit in the worst way...one of the worst jobs as a parent is engage in a conversation with a child who thinks you are stupid...or one who is so convinced he is right that he thinks you are just mean or crazy or both...or born yesterday...
moving right along, wingman read danny and the dinosaur to me last night!!...he's been working on it for awhile, and now he's seem to have gotten it...
all. 64. pages. of. it.
can i tell you?...really?
first of all, it's not a terribly interesting story...and being as it was published in 1958, it's just downright weird...
don't get me wrong, it's GREAT when a child starts to read in earnest...a milestone marked, pride felt by both parent and child...and then, then to be able to tackle a big book like danny and the dinosaur, well that's just amazing...and at five!!
BUT I WAS LYING THERE FOR 35 MINUTES!!...OH. MY. GOD.!!!...it's been building for a few nights because he's been reading most of it himself...but i would help out a lot or take over...but no, not last night...he had to read every. single. word.
of course i told him i was proud of him and he was obviously proud...but good lord, couldn't it be a shorter book?...pat the bunny?...maisy's colors?...the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog?...
okay, those are both dorky books and a typing exercise, but you get my point...
i just wanted to rip the book out of his hands and read it really fast...or when he struggled over a word it was all i could do to just shout it out...it's ASKED!! FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY AND GOOD IN THE WORLD!!...A. S. K. E. D.!!!...ASKED!!
of course it sounds mean and of course i didn't...
but i wanted to...
in his newly minted pride (he's just a peach!) he took it to school for show and tell today...
and if his teacher knows what's good for her, she will read it to the kids...
x.
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