(Raili in her new School Uniform)

 

So, Raili is at the dinner table and is just refusing to even pick up her spoon (she drank a whole can of 7-Up on the walk back from picking up the food at a local restaurant.) First Mari takes a shot at it….eat your food, eat your food now, eat.  Nothing.  So Mari ups it a bit and (all in Finnish) spits out thru clenched teeth…eat…your…food….now!! “Why are you using robot voice Aiti?”  Mari loses it in laughter hidden quickly behind her hand…I’m completely oblivious to the humor as all of this was in Finnish, so I jump in and within 3 sentences get to such a volume level that the eating begins.

 

Later that night, tucking her into bed, I tell her that I’m really sad today.

“Why are you sad daddy?”

Because you were a bad girl, you disobeyed Aiti, you refused to eat your food

“And you yelled at me and hurt my ears.”

Yes, that was your fault for disobeying Aiti.

 “Well I don’t believe it was my fault, no I don’t believe it.”

(I cringe…this delivered in the same tone that her mother uses…)

But you were disobeying Aiti.

“Well but daddy, no on else was yelling you were the only one yelling”

(This time a shudder of fear….I’m almost out of ammo…I try another round of the same…)

Yes, Daddy was angry because you were disobeying Aiti.

“That’s the truth for you daddy, that’s not the truth for me”

Ok…so what is the truth for you?

“Well, daddy, the truth for me is that I don’t care about other people or school or home, I don’t care.  I only care about fleecy fleecy, and you and Aiti and Kai.”

 

I kiss her goodnight. ….I’ve just lost my first argument to my daughter…she is 4.