Dad. Sorry, I love you last. Mom first, Nala, Ollie, then you Daddy.

I should point out that Nala is the cat.

One of the dangers of having a socially advanced kid is that she came out of the womb adept at using her love as a weapon. I don’t know where she learned this from, since it’s obviously not something she’s learned from example. Sometimes she’s actively trying to see if she can press your buttons, or punishing you for some perceived transgression. I wouldn’t say it’s exactly an attractive trait.

Unfortunately for her, I am completely immune to this, and I have hung the above declaration over my desk at work (oh yeah, and then posted it on the Internet).

My hope has always been that by ignoring these attempts and not making a big deal about them, she will realize that they don’t work and knock it off. The bad news is that she’s already practicing these skills, and will have honed them to a razor’s edge by the time she’s a teenager. But in the meantime, we can all have a good laugh over it.

What’s that? Oh, I guess I just have something in my eye…