I asked Henry to sit down to eat the other day and he replied with, "no thank you", and I realized that I made a mistake - a common realization these days. While politely requesting is a nice thing to do, and something I don't often hear from parents as they speak to their children, I am also learning that directives are much needed, and sometimes, more to the point - as in this situation. So, feeling foolish and also somewhat bolstered, I replied thusly:

"Ok, thank you for being polite, I appreciate that. Now, let me tell you why you will be following Mama's direction: 1) I am older and wiser than you, 2) I am more skilled than you, 3) I have more experience than you do, 4) I have more patience, and 5) I'm Mom, and ultimately, I decide."

Ok, so the first one is just bogus - and who cares how old I am; and the last one is just pathetic - a last ditch effort to sound important and in control - but I figure I don't have long to be able to use these arguments without his starting to question them.

Feeling proud once he was in his chair, I thought about adding to my list that I receive money for what I do, and then it occurred to me that Henry is way ahead of me there - he receives money for just existing, while I have to work for it and also pay the government for my existence. That sort of put some things into perspective for me in a way that made me no longer feel very bolstered.