Pinch

Z, B, cousin E, and S

We have a daughter, who, despite our constant encouragement, is STILL petrified of doing anything wrong. I don't know why.
Tonight, she came out of her room after she had been put to bed. I said, mostly out of curiosity, "Why are you out of bed already?"
And she had to use all of her super girl powers not to cry.

Because of that one question.

Because she doesn't want to do anything wrong.

Ever.

And. Then.

We have a son, Z, who is CONSTANTLY doing things wrong...and not really caring one tiny bit about it. Actually, he thinks he is pretty darn cool no matter WHAT he does.

In the span of about five minutes, I heard him say, "What the hell!" four times. As in, "What the hell! How can a baby possibly be that strong!?" And "What the hell!? How come you just walked on my face, M?" And "What the hell!?" (because he hit his head on the couch).

After the fourth time, K went to have a "discussion" with Z about it. You know, about how six year old boys can't really say "what the hell" appropriately. (Can anyone?) And how congregation members might not approve. And stuff.

Z shrugged his shoulders, smiled, and said, "Okay, Papa."

And that was it. He doesn't mind being corrected. It's just a part of life, right? He's still the coolest thing on the planet, correct?!

We went on Spring Break. My Dad rented a house for our WHOLE family to share. 22 people. 13 kids. Z and his cousin, E, (after living together for 5 days), were fighting about whether adults or kids were smarter. Z said adults were smarter and that they were the bosses. E said kids were smarter because "they have bigger heads and bigger brains." Z adamantly disagreed.

Z pinched E.

We had the talk...about how if you are upset, it is best to try to walk away...or get an adult to help you work it out...something besides pinching or hitting...and then we went to the beach.

E had a pretty good pinch mark, so I said, "Sheesh, E! Look what Z did to your arm!"

E, now a proud victim, went to show Z the damage that was done.

"Look what you did to my arm, Z!"

And Z, beaming, announced, "Yup! I sure am a good pincher, aren't I, E?!"

And E, a little stunned, said, "Yeah. You are." And they were buddies again.