Clean Your Den, or No Maidens For You

"Buddy, is your room clean yet?"

"How much have you—oh jeez, you guys! I asked you to clean your room two hours ago. This looks worse than it was."

"Sweetie, you were supposed to help him. What have you two been doing this whole time?"

"But you weren't supposed to be playing. You were supposed to be cleaning your room. Weren't you guys working together?"

"Playing together is not working together. I told you before things go faster if you can both work together. It cuts your work time in half."

"Right, Sweetie, that's called cooperation."

"Yes, Buddy, just like you learned on Sesame Street."

"So why weren't you cooperating?"

"No, I don't care what Ernie and Bert did on Sesame Street today."

"Because I want to find out why your room's not clean."

"What do you mean, she was the bad guy?"

"Huh, I didn't know you guys played knights and dragons. I used to play that as a kid. I remember one time—wait, that's not important. You need to get your room clean, Buddy. Let's stay focused on the issue right now."

"No, I didn't know she could imitate a dragon."

"Okay, Sweetie, show me what dragons sound like."

"Wow, that's pretty scary."


You can read the rest of this column at my Laughing Stalk blog.
"Yes, I'm being patronizing. That's a pretty big word for an 8-year-old."