"That's Not Fair!"

“That’s not fair!”

I hate those words.

Probably as much as my kids hate the reply, “Life’s not fair. The sooner you realize that the better off you’ll be.”

So it began, “That’s not fair! I was sitting there!” My youngest son was yelling at my daughter who had sat down for dinner in the chair he had just vacated to go into the bathroom. “I just got up because you told me I had to wash my hands.” (Inferring, of course, that it is my fault that he lost his seat because of my unreasonable expectations concerning personal hygiene.) The battle begins...again. Who will sit in the first seat?

Why is the first seat so desirable? Maybe it is because it is the closest to the garbage can in case there are some Lima beans which need to be disposed of discreetly. Or maybe it is the ability to get away the quickest lest someone ask them to clear the table or do the dishes. I prefer to believe that it is because of the view since it is the one directly across from my smiling face. For whatever reason, the first seat is the best seat.

What do we do now?

This particular day we decided to divvy things up a bit. I picked a number from one to one hundred and had them each write down a number on a piece of paper. The one who was closest to the right number got to sit there that night, an even numbered day of the month, and the other could sit there on odd days of the month.

Ryan picked closest and there he sat. Katie was none too pleased, but it was settled. So we thought.

A few days later, Ryan, whose chore is to set the table, offered Katie a deal. You can sit there tonight if you set the table. Katie doesn’t mind work, so she agreed. For now Katie does Ryan’s chore every other day, and sits there every day. Hmmm.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

After a while, Ryan decides that since Katie sits there every day, she should set the table everyday. You know why he thinks that, right?

Because if Katie only sets the table every other day, but gets to sit there everyday...

"That's not fair!"

This is what we call parenting.