Kyna is running through the house, throwing his ball and having a great time.

Kenzie is doing her best to get him to play with her. “Kyna this would be your baby and our babies would go swimming in this pool.”

Kyna seemingly doesn’t even hear her as he sends the ball ricocheting through the living room again.

Kenz decides to change her tactics. “Kyna you would be a ballplayer and you would be tired from playing so much ball, can you say: I’m SO tired from playing so much ball!”

Now she has his attention. “I’m so tired from playing SO much ball!” he repeats as he chases after his ball again.

As I watch them play, I’m thinking, wow, Kynaston’s got a lot of patience because there’s just no way someone would control my actions to the point that they are telling me what to say!

Awhile later, Kenz is wailing, (a loud and fake cry) from the toy room. I start my investigation, (it’s been said that if the F.B.I. can’t solve a crime, send a bunch of moms, they’ll get to the bottom of it!:) )

“Kenz, why are you making that funny noise?”

“Kyna, hit me!”

“Kyna, why did you hit her?”

“Because I’m mowing the lard (yard)(his y’s are all said as l’s) and Kenz said I mayn’t!”

“Kenz, why can’t he mow the yard?”

“Because this is not the yard! This is the living room and we can’t bring the mower in the living room, it has to stay in the kitchen because that’s the yard!”

Oh, I see. It seems Kyna has grown tired of being told how and what to play. So I try to explain to my 5 year old, that they can play together but Kyna can play how he wants, and doesn’t have to do and say everything that she wants him to, and maybe the toy room can be her living room and still be Kyna’s yard.

I know, it sounds really strange to me to and I’m really hoping the day doesn’t come that I must swallow my words and allow Checkers to use my living room as his yard! 🙂

As I try to find some solutions for their spiel, I can’t help but realize how much their childish dilemmas can be found in the adult word as well.

You see it when you’re driving on the road: frustration and irritation at other drivers because they don’t drive the way I would!

You see it in almost all relationships: frustration and irritation that people don’t respond or do things the way I would.

It seems to be human nature to think, I’ve got it right, why can’t everyone else get it right as well?!

Why is it so hard to simply step back and say: You be you and do it your way and I’ll be me and do it my way.