And Zen What

It was the Day of the Pretzel. Somehow Seven hadn't had one (ever one presumes, but for sure not here) until yesterday. This is odd because Mom, MOM! thinks pretzels are a major food group.

Anyway, there she was in the van, with her little baggie full of pretzels, yelling, "NUM, NUM" with every bite. Then she decided to share her tremendous discovery with everybody else. When she got to Six, he said, clear as a bell:

"No, t'ank you."

Floored. See, Six has, uh, politeness issues these days. And he's pretty apt to get into bickering mode with Seven. She gives him as good as she gets. Then it's over. Until it begins again. I'm not too fussed about it, since it's a pretty common in the (re)adjustment phase. You add a kid to the already complex mix and all the relationships in the family get tossed up in the air. It takes a while for it all to settle back down, and it's frequently a pretty bumpy ride.

So whenever there's a hint of something like normalcy peeking through, I immediately go into reinforcement mode:

M, M! (schoolmarmishly): "Six! That was very polite! What a good boy you are!"

Six (slightly aggrieved--as usual he hasn't quite heard me the first time): "Wha'? I said 'no, t'ank you."

M, M! (uber-schoolmarmishly): "Yes, I know. You said 'No, thank you to Seven. That was very polite."

Six (pitying tone for the cluelessness of Mom, MOM!): "Well, I like her, now."

Six lives in the now. It's a good place to be. Sure, the next pretzel may get batted away with a growl which will then provoke a howl which might then provoke something non-schoolmarmish from me (yes, it's true, Mom, MOM! is only human, sometimes). But that will be then.

And this is always now.