The boys had been little monsters. I have always suspected that boys were little mutants who had come to make life hard and miserable for the rest of the population. The day was proving my suspicions correct.
So, when my husband asked me how the day went, I told him that I had taken the little monsters out. Edmund immediately asked me to apologize.
"You apologize!" he said looking indignant. "Mommy, calling people names is not nice. When you call me a monster, that hurt my feelings. You should say, 'sorry'."
I sighed as I looked at him. This made the second time he had called me on something this week. The first concerned my vain battle to get his brother to take his teething medicine. Spencer's harassed cries earned me a "Mommy, be kind to Spencer." It is the beginning of the Bible verse I quote the boys whenever I catch them fighting before I leave them to work it out. (Ephesians 4:32) Edmund stood by the bathroom door, a stern look on his three year old face, "be kind" he repeated before he left the room. I snuffed at him. Spencer really did need to take his medicine or he would keep all of us up all night. But this was different. I supposed it wasn't the kindest thing to call the boys monsters. I probably should have kept the comment to myself...
"Mommy's sorry, baby," I said as he squinted his eyes at me for calling him a baby. He let that one slide. "If mommy couldn't say anything nice, she shouldn't have said anything at all." I did, after all, still think that he and his brother were monsters.
Edmund placed bunny in his other hand and said, "that's all right, mommy. I forgive you." Then, he offered me a hug and went off to fight with his brother over his golf cubs.
Ah, modelling in parenthood...Be careful what you say. Someone will call you on it.
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