The Way They Think

At lunch, O (7) says, "Mom, do you want to hear a joke? I haven't thought of the end of it yet." Ummm. . .

Near the end of our first long day of homeschooling, R (5) began to grumble about his work. When I asked him to leave the table and go to his bed he started crying. Then I told him to go to his bed- and he fell to the floor, crying. As I offered my hand to help him up, he continued his resistance (disobedience). We reconvened in the privacy of the laundry room and when he had sufficient self-control we discussed what had just occurred.

I asked if he had obeyed me and his response was, "No."

Did you go upstairs the first time I asked you? "No," he said.

Were you working with a cheerful heart? "No," he admitted.

Did you obey me right away? "No," he answered without hesitation.

"Then, R, you deserve". . . I began, when he interrupted with:

"But, Mom! (I love it when they call me ButtMom- ha!) I COULDN'T go upstairs when you asked me to! I was WAILING so loudly that I SURELY would have woken up L and T from their naps! You wouldn't like that, would you?" Ummm. . .