Weirdo 2,000

Quite often as a parent, I must make decisions which are not-well received by my children. It is absolutely impossible for me to please them all of the time. I have grown accustomed to having one or more of them become a little angry with some of the decisions I make on a day to day basis.

In one such instance the other day, my four-year-old became quite upset with me. Although I can't recall specifics, I remember calmly telling him his actions were not okay, and he needed to go to his room. Of course, he obeyed and headed up the stairs; however, he let me know he was not happy about it. I think he thought he could say something that would make me feel bad, and then I would let him come out of his room.

"You stupid weirdo," he said hatefully.

When I did not respond, he obviously thought he needed to say something worse to get my attention. However, his four-year-old limited vocabulary did not contain anything worse.

"You weirdo 2,000," he yelled at me.

Again, I did not respond, but I quickly found an isolated corner to let go of a little chuckle. I did not want him to see me laugh because then he would have thought he had succeeded in manipulating the situation.

Too often, I have encountered adults who have the same mindset. They go through life doing anything they can to manipulate people and situations, not caring who they hurt in the process. While being called a weirdo 2,000 by my son did not really bother me, I do not enjoy being the victim of an adult who is trying to manipulate a situation. I have seen this manipulation played out in both hateful words and underhanded deeds.

Way too often, adults lower themselves to a child's level, cross their arms and in a sense say, "I'm not your friend anymore."

I guess it makes me wonder ... Does anyone ever grow up?