Pushing Buttons

The little girl loves any button she can get her hands on. Buttons that make noise, trill, chime, scream, play music. The action that creates another action. So she's developed a vocabulary for expressing her fondness for pushing buttons.

But'ons! Ah push it. Ah push but'on. Play 'sica. (That's music, she's talking about.) 'Sica on!

She loves it. She's also become fond of finding new buttons to push. Keyboards, the telephone, the cell phone... Mommy even has a few buttons.

"Can I have a hug?" I ask, and she comes shrieking into my arms. "Haig!" she proclaims. "Kiss!"

Then I made the mistake of playfully telling her that "Mommy is sad" when she didn't want to give me a hug. Oh boy, oh boy. Dumb Mommy. Another button to push. She knows she can say "no" and get a reaction. So now I don't get as many hugs because when I ask, she often gets that wild look on her face that says "I know what I can do to make Mommy crazy - Mwahahaha!" Now I have to fake caring whether she gives me a hug or not.

Come to think of it, her expression at these times is similar to the face I grew up seeing my mother make: You better do this OR ELSE. The little girl never sees my mother make that face. She could only have gotten it from me.

I already messed up on the screaming thing. I hate it when she screams, not least of all because, at close range, she can make my ears go numb for several seconds at a time, just before the pain kicks in. Then for a while, she tried threatening me with screaming when didn't like something. I'd tell her, we have to go [do something] and she'd look at me meaningfully and say, "Ah scream!" I couldn't decide whether to laugh or hold my head. I can't help but laugh. Honey, you are trying to threaten me? I can take you out. But unfortunately, I can't really best her. I can only do my Mommy best to not give away too much of my reactions.

I've had some practice with swearing. Every so often, she picks up something I've said. I have gotten much better at ignoring the word I do not want to hear. She really doesn't need any more of that sort of buttons to push.

Let this be a lesson to me. If she finds a button, she will push it. Quick! Hide all the buttons!
--