My word is law, and Pudd’ng knows it

You are broke? Take these to the bank: One, children are uber-observant beings. Two, they are wiser than owls. Three, put on the witness stand, they can make a Philadelphia lawyer look like a dunderhead.

Our daughter has done her homework and come to the conclusion that I am the head. Big daddy. That my word is law. She knows exactly how power rolls in our crib.

Call them power or mind games, but Pudd’ng is in the habit of trying to wiggle out of tasks. Especially when asked to do something she does not want to.

And she will phrase her protest note so sickly-sweet, it will sound innocuous.

Know what? Methinks Pudd’ng is gaming. Sussing us out. Trying to find the weakest link. Man, this child is smart enough to know that she can use words, twisted a tad, to wrap us — and the sum total of our ages — around her left pinkie.

God has said...

The other day when Tenderoni was chopping vegetables, Pudd’ng asked me if she could help her mother. Sounds noble, especially if you take the word “help” into consideration.

Plus, if you did not know the back-story — what occurred seconds before Pudd’ng made this request — you would swear that our Pudd’ng is so helpful, she deserves loads of brownie points.

Earlier, Tenderoni had scooted baby girl from the kitchen because she knew the sweet thing would chop her patience into strips.

And, best thing was, I heard the conversation. Blow-by-blow. Uh-uh, baby girl was not going to sweet talk me into reversing Tenderoni’s word.

“What did Mama say?” I answered a question with a question, to which she replied, face fallen, that she had been told to play in the living room.

“And what has God said to children?”

“God has said that children must honour their parents.”

Enough said.

Here are some gospel truths that will be pick-me-ups for God’s child when it is one of those days. God has said... I am the head, not the tail. Going above, not under. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I am blessed, ad infinitum.

Daddy has said...

Some minutes ago, Pudd’ng brought in the vanity case from the bedroom. After going through it, she asked me if it was OK for her to wear her pink heart-shaped earrings.

Now she had the chutzpah to go to Tenderoni and declare: “Daddy has said I can wear these earrings.” That is the same thing that happened the last Friday before schools reopened.