Monday, February 27, 2006

What I should have said...


Consider the following conversation had between my child and a little girl she considers her "best friend" upon the instance of said "best friend" receiving an invitation to a party my kid is throwing that happens (unfortunately) to fall on the same date as another child's party which "best friend" also wants to go to...

Boo: [handing BF an invite] Here's the invitation. My party is on the Sunday.
BF:You can't have it on Sunday. OG's party is on Sunday.
Boo:Oh.
BF:Have it on another day.
Boo:I can't. I already gave out all the invitations...
BF:So. Tell everyone you're changing it. Make new ones.
Boo:But these took a really long time to make.
BF:That's your fault. You shouldn't have made them so detailed. make new ones that are white. Change the party to next week and make new invitations. I can come next week.

Now, to my Boo's credit, her response to this was:

Boo:no. I don't want to.

And of, course, later when she told me about it, adding that her BF's bossy tone and "bossy-face" had made her feel bad, I responded in an appropriately reasonable, adult manner

Me:Well, then what did you say?
Boo:I said "no." That I already had to move it once but she got mad and walked away.
Me:Hmmm. Well, do you think that's because she felt bad because she really wanted to go to both parties and now it looks like she has to choose?

NOT

Me: [actual response] Hmmm. Well, I think it's mean to try to get you to change just because she wants you to! It's your party. You can have it whenever you want!
Boo:Yeah. Do you think she maybe felt bad because she couldn't come?

Yes, folks, that's the 8-year-old being empathetic not me... God, I'm sucky at this whole "role model" thing...

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