E was coloring today. She asked me if I wanted to take a turn, and I said, "Sure!" I knew we would soon have an interesting conversation about how Miss E likes to comment on others' work, especially to say, "You missed a spot. Right here." She's done it to me before, and to a classmate. It drives me crazy. So I was ready, this time, for her to pounce. But I set the stage, first.
I said, "Ok. So, Mommy is going to color in these blocks, right? And I'm going to do it the way that I want, right? And even if E doesn't like it, it's ok, because it's Mommy's project. Right?"
"Right."
So, I finished my work. And E said, "That's a great job Mommy. But...you missed a spot."
"Well, you know, I really like it the way it is. I think I'll leave it this way."
She became visibly concerned.
"But..."
"Well," she said, "You missed a spot. Would you like to fill it in?"
"No, thank you."
"Well, then, I will do it."
"No, E. I want to leave it like that."
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
She tipped her head to the side, and then proceeded to fill in the missing spots.
"E," I said, "Mommy asked you to leave Mommy's project the way it was."
"But I didn't hear you."
"Right....(laughing, and thinking to myself, Oh My. This isn't 3, this is E!)
