Thursday, March 22, 2012

You don't fight at all, do you?

So, the other day I posted that my middle guy, age 10, was home sick from school. Yesterday he was still sick. Today he wasn't getting any better, so it was off to the pediatrician to see what was going on. I expected strep throat since he often has strep when he complains of a bad sore throat. Well, not this time. Now it's bronchitis. Poor thing.

His 8-year-old brother was complaining of a sore throat this morning. So, he was also home from school and was also with us at the doctor's office. Once we got into the exam room, I strategically positioned myself in the middle on the bench seats so that the two wouldn't be touching in any way or have any reason to quarrel about anything. They were doing pretty good. Until the doctor came in.

Along the way, in his string of questions about appetite and if he was sleeping ok and if his ears hurt, he asked a question that opened up a can of worms. He said, "You guys don't ever fight, do you?" Well, what followed was something like this:

8-year-old: No.
10-year-old: Not really.
8yo: Well, sometimes.
10yo: We only fight when he starts it.
8yo: No, I don't.
10yo: You start it by making annoying noises.
8yo: No, I don't. You start it.
10yo: How do I start it? You're the annoying one.
8yo: But it's because you yell at me.
10yo: I yell at you because you're annoying.
8yo: I am not annoying.
10yo: Oh, shut up.
8yo: No, you.
10yo: No, you.
8yo: No.
10yo: No, you're the one who's annoying.

I looked at the doctor. "I guess you got your answer."

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