More from Mr. Bossy

Sometimes the things we say to the boys come back to haunt us. During the period when Connor was sick, he had some tummy issues that precipitated a bit of a regression in terms of the potty. This got a little frustrating for us because there were times when it seemed he was making no effort to get to the potty. When we would gently remonstrate him about this or betray some frustration, he would often answer that he had tried. Given that he evidently hadn’t, we sometimes told him to “try harder.”

So yesterday we’re walking home from the pool and Sarah asked him, as is often our wont, “Do you know how much I love you?” He gave the standard answer “So much,” a little wearily. Then he asked, “Why do you always ask that?” “Well,” Sarah said “because we love you so much.” Here Jamie chimes in with an eye-rolling, “We already know that.” Sensing she was being reproved, Sarah said “OK I’ll try not to ask that so often.” What was Connor's reply? “Try harder.”