Upstairs, folding laundry. Suddenly, from downstairs there was a cry;
Boy #2: "How do I turn it off?"
Me: "How do you turn what off?"
A moment's silence, then;
Boy #2: "I can't turn it off!"
Me: "You can't turn what off?"
Boy #2: "I'm pressing the button but it just comes back on..."
My normal reaction at this point would be to go downstairs and sort the problem out, but since one of my few New Year's Resolutions this year is to do less for my children (as in, foster their independence), I forced myself to stay put.
Me: "If you need me, come upstairs. You know where I am."
Boy #2: "But - but - how do I turn it OFF?"
Now I was starting to get concerned. What was going on down there? Still, we're only 9 days into the New Year and I had made that resolution, so...
Me: "What are you talking about? What are you trying to turn off?"
Boy #2: "Oh. It's off*. Thanks, Mama."
Confused?
Happy 7th Birthday, Boy #2. I love you whole-heartedly - and Life would be a lot less interesting without you to keep me on my toes...
What are your New Year's Resolutions?
* I later discovered that Boy #2 was talking about the XBox handset which he was using to pretend to control his brother (at that moment in time, a robot) and which he had inadvertently switched on. Because that's what you do with your Christmas presents, apparently - use them for something entirely different to the function the were designed for. This, I believe, is the 7 year old equivalent to playing with the cardboard box rather than the toy that arrived in it...
