Nov 8, 2011

Thanks! And...sorry.

I brought some picture books out for the kids but Iiley is being a pain. He wants to rub his dirty fingers all over the pages and then dangle the book by the front cover. I ask for the book back, but he just grins and steps away. There are no other adults around and What Do You Do with a Kangaroo? seems seconds away from being dropped and/or torn in half.

What do you do? I turn to Buba and instruct, “Buba, beat Iilley.” Buba, who is a helpful child, smacks Iilley in the chest. Iilley, startled even though he’d had advance warning, turns to face Buba and loosens his grip on the book. I snatch it away and shout, “Buba, thank you!”

Buba doesn’t hear me. He is busy scowling at Iilley, who has just countered with a similar smack to the chest. Then they try pushing each other head first into the ground while shouting “Your ____!” “____!” “You _____!” and similar insults. There is also some punching and clawing. I try to break them apart with a cheerful, “Okay, it’s finished!” I feel awful about what I got Buba into. At least now I can tell people I've had a boy fight for me...I'll just leave out the fact that he's two years old.

Finally some mothers arrive and intervene, but not before Iilley releases one final “Your mom’s ____!”

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