The boy was upset with his sister this morning.
In many ways, that statement is like the proverbial “man bits dog” statement. For the time being, it’s the safe way to bet that the two of them will be at each other’s throats in one way or another. It so happens that this morning the boy seemed particularly irked by the fact that, well, his sister exists.
First, it was arguments over breakfast and that she was constantly in his way. Then, he was upset when she reached for a bag of Doritos for her lunch because he also was having Doritos with his lunch. He was convinced that she was copying him and this naturally morphed into the more general complaint that “she always copies” me.
The Wife and I both told him to drop it and worry about himself. The whole exchange culminated with a trip to the corner for him because he “wished his sister wasn’t born sometimes.”
He finally had a little breakfast and subsequently hings quieted down until we got into the car. She was riding shotgun and he was directly behind her in the back seat. For whatever reason, she turned around to look at a car that had passed us. Suddenly, the boy jabbed his fingers into her face. He didn’t want her staring at her.
I yelled at him yet again, (“You could poke an eye out!” It felt so cliched.) including telling him for the millionth time that he needs to find other things to get annoyed about.
I remember my own days of being annoyed at things my younger siblings did. I realize now I really should have spent my energies on other things, though I’m pretty sure at the time whatever annoyance my brother and my sister were creating was the most important thing in the whole world. This appears to be the stage the boy is going through. Hopefully, he’ll take the nagging to heart at some point, finally realizing the truly minor nature of the annoyances his sister presents.