It’s a discovery everyone makes at some point in their early life. “Mine” could mean, “I had it and I don’t feel like sharing, so back off.” Or it could mean, “you’ve got it, but I should have it.” Or it could mean, “someone come and help me get this away from him.” It’s one of the clearest words in a young child’s vocabulary.
The boys are learning to use words to control their environment. It’s certainly preferable to biting or pulling their brother’s hair. But it’s not always effective, which leads to confusion and frustration. Andrew got aboard the Mickey Mouse Airplane (seen in earlier emails). He hadn’t even had a chance to do a decent takeoff, when Nathan came up to him ever so sweetly. He put his hand gently on Andrew’s back, leaned forward to make eye contact with Andrew and said in a voice dripping with polite, sincerity, “please?!” Andrew’s face registered utter dismay with no sign of hope for Nathan. Nathan looked at me with a very injured expression of shock and puzzlement. “How could this not have worked? I’ve done just as instructed and used my magic words!” The reality then sets in; there are no magic words. I witnessed the moment with the same disappointment you feel, when children learn there is no Santa.
It reminds me of the story of the little boy who was fighting over a toy with his brother. He was told by his mother that Jesus always shared. He said to his brother, “that sounds good. You be Jesus.”
I learned it’s not a good idea to feed tacos to toddlers. I tried to get them to take a bite of the taco with no success. Who knows what might be hiding in a taco shell? Andrew loves tomatoes and wanted to get them out without having to eat the rest. He was thrilled when he discovered there was a whole dish of tomatoes and it didn’t require eating any of the taco. Nathan on the other hand wasn’t sure he really cared for the idea of a taco, until he discovered the soft shell was not too bad, if you could manage to fling the small stuff on the inside out.
