One of my mom’s favorite stories about me is that on one occasion when she was frustrated with me and telling me so in no uncertain terms, I looked up at her and inquired “Mommy, are you five minutes mad or ten minutes mad?” Evidently, realizing her kid had her figured out to that extent was quite an eye-opener.
My son has me just as thoroughly figured out. I was yelling at him tonight, because he forgot something he has been reminded of daily for a week, and I was frustrated by it. So he went off to calm down in the attic, and when he came back asked if I was done being mad. I said I was done yelling, though we still needed to talk. We did that, and then he went to play a computer game.
A few minutes later, he came over and gave me a kiss. (I don’t take boy-kisses for granted; it took him years to learn the difference between a kiss and a bite.) Then he stepped back and nodded. “Ok” he said. “That made your mad meter go from 50 down to 20. If I give you another kiss, it’ll go to zero.” Then he suited deed to word, making me laugh. “Good!” he observed. “That does work. The experiment was a success!”
Did I mention my son was too smart for my own good?