Sure

This is a pretty classic parenting moment that I think you guys will appreciate.  The story comes across better in the verbal telling, so I hope it comes across well enough in writing.

Miciah has been ... moody lately.  I haven't written much about it, because every time I think about posting I have an internal dilemma.  She's getting older.  She's well past the point of being an extension of myself.  She's no longer "mine" to write about.  Or, if she IS, then I certainly can't exploit her and all her quirks, just so I can say that I recorded it.  She's her own person, and a wonderful person at that.  Is it fair to write about her moodiness, etc.?

But, I think it is fair to simply say that she's been moody, and it's something we're all learning to cope with, including her.  It creates some ... fun moments.  Like this moment which happened over the weekend.

Miciah was tired, that was obvious.  She'd been to a Daddy Daughter Princess Ball and danced the night away with her cousins, and they'd all had so much fun that they were wound up and wound down, at the same time.  So when we got in the car to leave, she started throwing a fit.  She wanted to stay at M&A's house, instead of going to M's house to spend the night.  The answer to that was no.  She insisted.  We insisted back.  She got more insistent.  We told her to get in the car RIGHT NOW, and she ran to the van crying and screaming.

Literally screaming.  When she gets frustrated, she's taken to going down to her room and screaming as loud as she can.  I don't know if I should ignore it, or encourage her to scream as a way to get her anger out, or if I should put an end to it.  I've chosen to ignore it so far, since I'm not sure what the right answer is anyway.  I can remember being her age and getting that frustrated.  But screaming in the VAN, with your brothers and parents inside, isn't okay.

So we told her to stop.  Rob took over at this point.  He's better at dealing with Miciah, always has been.  She stopped screaming, but continued to whine and cry.  Elijah kept saying things like, "Why are you always so whiny?" and Miciah kept exploding at him.  Can't blame either one of them--Elijah for getting annoyed (he's so even-keeled.  He doesn't understand her outbursts), or Miciah for responding negatively to her brother.  Still, I instructed Elijah to be quiet.  He was.

And Rob continued to deal with Miciah.  He finally hit the brakes a little harder than necessary, and pulled over to the side of the road.  In a don't-mess-with-me voice, he said something like:

"Do I need to go over the reasons why we CAN'T stay at M&A's house?  One:  We've made plans to stay at M's house.  Two:  M&A are getting baptized tomorrow, and we don't need to be in their way.  Three:  You're throwing such a fit about it that no matter what, the answer is no.  Four:  It doesn't matter WHERE we stay, because everyone is going to bed anyway.  Five:  When you throw fits like this you make me SO ANGRY and FRUSTRATED that I don't want to give you your way EVER."

He paused for effect, then said, "Do I need to go over reasons 6 through 20?"

The van was silent, and Rob was patting himself on the back for laying down the law and getting his point across, when out of the back seat comes a little Elijah voice with the answer to his question:

"Sure."

Rob and I just about died laughing.  And we've been saying it to ourselves ever since, in the same sweet, deadpan voice Elijah used.  "Sure."  Ah, so classic.