Don't Call Me Names

Paige is going to drive me crazy, I do believe. I know a lot of my recent posts have to deal with her. It's either write about it or make the headlines in the morning paper.

Paige and Makenna have gotten into this nasty habit of name calling. I hate it and think it's totally uncalled for. From what I've been told by Paige's counselor, this is pretty normal. Well, Paige isn't normal and her vocabulary is very extensive for her age and the names she comes up with are just unacceptable.

This evening I was trying to get some chores done because I was meeting a friend for supper. This friend is from New Hampshire and we only get to see each other maybe once a year when she comes to visit her mother. We've been friends since sixth grade and have kept in contact since graduation. That's alot of letters, phone calls, and emails.

Back to the story. The girls were in a name calling contest and my nerves had just about all they could stand. I finally told them both that the next person that calls the other a name would have to write that word 100 times. Paige said..."Makenna, too?" I said..."Makenna can write so that includes her, too."

I send Makenna next door to do her homework because I guess the air here wasn't conducive to work today. She just couldn't get anything done.

I am folding clothes and finally finish. I tell Paige to go put them up. She decides it's time to practice being a lawyer because she starts her opening argument. I refuse to participate. I made a comment and for the life of me can't remember what it was. She looked at me and said, "Are you retarded?"

No she didn't.

I look at her at say...."I don't like that word at all. You will write it 200 times and be done before I get home from supper."

She says...."Don't you mean 100 times?"

I say....."I'm obviously retarded in your eyes so make it 200. You don't call your mother names."

I come home from supper and she has done her 200 times. I look at it and take another look.

The first 100 times she had written: retarted

My brother apparently told her the spelling mistake and on all the t's she went back and did a hoop to make it a d.

Do you know how hard it was for me not to say:

"Look who the retarded one is now?"