Well, If You're Going To Insist On Punishment
This evening I flew solo, which I'll be doing a lot of over the next few weeks since Andrea's basically chained to her theater with work. We were low on leftovers and I was low on cash for ordering out, so I threw together a quick pasta and chicken dish in the kitchen while Fiona enjoyed the guilt-inducing-but-it-does-make-your-life-easier-as-a-parent electronic babysitter. It was an episode of Arthur, which we DVR for her since we use that quick shot of TV frequently in the early evening when we're trying to get dinner together and only one parent is home.
Anyway, the episode ended as I was draining the pasta and getting ready to add it to the chicken, and Fiona shouted out to me that Arthur was over and she wanted something else. I told her we were going to eat in two minutes, and that she'd seen a lot of TV, so I was turning it off so we could get ready to eat. And then I ran back to the kitchen to finish the dish.
As I went, I heard Fiona blow a raspberry in my direction.
Now, this is a big no-no, and Fiona knows it. When she spits at us, she has to go to her room (we don't shut the door for time outs any more, since she gets the point once she's sent to her room). But I was down the hall and almost in the kitchen and I really just wanted to get dinner ready, so I pretended I hadn't heard anything.
Back in the living room I could hear Fiona blow another raspberry. Did she want to be punished?
I dumped the pasta in with the chicken and stirred.
From the living room, Fiona shouted "Daddy, I spit at you!"
I decided to give her one last chance.
"I can't hear you, honey, I'm in the kitchen."
At which point, Fiona marched down the hall to the kitchen door and announced "I spit at you."
Well, dear reader, there wasn't much I could do at that point: "Go to your room," I told her, in a relatively gentle tone.
And so Fiona marched into her room, threw herself on her bed, and started sobbing to the heavens.
Does this ever happen in the adult world? Do people show up at the police station to turn themselves in for petty theft? And then file suit for police brutality? Will somebody please explain toddler logic to me? Or is it, as I suspect, beyond all capacity for adult understanding?
The punchline came when I went in two minutes later to do the post-trouble debriefing with Fiona and asked her if she knew why she was sent to her room. She couldn't remember.
Anyway, the episode ended as I was draining the pasta and getting ready to add it to the chicken, and Fiona shouted out to me that Arthur was over and she wanted something else. I told her we were going to eat in two minutes, and that she'd seen a lot of TV, so I was turning it off so we could get ready to eat. And then I ran back to the kitchen to finish the dish.
As I went, I heard Fiona blow a raspberry in my direction.
Now, this is a big no-no, and Fiona knows it. When she spits at us, she has to go to her room (we don't shut the door for time outs any more, since she gets the point once she's sent to her room). But I was down the hall and almost in the kitchen and I really just wanted to get dinner ready, so I pretended I hadn't heard anything.
Back in the living room I could hear Fiona blow another raspberry. Did she want to be punished?
I dumped the pasta in with the chicken and stirred.
From the living room, Fiona shouted "Daddy, I spit at you!"
I decided to give her one last chance.
"I can't hear you, honey, I'm in the kitchen."
At which point, Fiona marched down the hall to the kitchen door and announced "I spit at you."
Well, dear reader, there wasn't much I could do at that point: "Go to your room," I told her, in a relatively gentle tone.
And so Fiona marched into her room, threw herself on her bed, and started sobbing to the heavens.
Does this ever happen in the adult world? Do people show up at the police station to turn themselves in for petty theft? And then file suit for police brutality? Will somebody please explain toddler logic to me? Or is it, as I suspect, beyond all capacity for adult understanding?
The punchline came when I went in two minutes later to do the post-trouble debriefing with Fiona and asked her if she knew why she was sent to her room. She couldn't remember.
posted by BWC at
9:58 PM
1 Comments:
Actually, that sounds EXACTLY like people who file claims of police brutality. (If you haven't guessed, btw, this is Andrew, I only have the Alito blogger, no self login). While they are adults, they are usually high or drunk, which makes the portion of not remembering ring all the more true.
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