My Two Teenagers

This morning, between the rain and the jet lag from the weekend, both Raphaela and I were moving slowly.  Raphaela more so, it took her ten minutes to find her jacket and put on her boots.  Nudging her along became impatience and shouting, whereupon Raphaela looked at me calmly and said, "Mommy, the more you yell and try to push me to get moving, the slower I will actually be."

Then the cat decided that I must be wrong about the weather, and insisted upon going outside with us.  Even at it rained upon him, and I gave Harry the option to come back inside, he looked at me and defiantly decided that he would stay outside in the cold, in the rain and in the mud.  Because, I surmise, by agreeing to come back inside, he would be admitting that he was wrong.

Later in the middle of my work day, I geared up and went outside, found Harry cowering under a car nearby, wrapped him in a towel and took him upstairs.  All the way up, he sat in my arms complaining, I imagine saying something like, "Mommy, it's disgusting outside!  How could you let me stay out there?"