I took Caden-3yr to the post office on Monday. It was just the two of us, so it was sort of special, even though it was just a short stop. Actually, it wasn’t quite as short as I would have liked, since there was a long line. Caden-3yr amused himself at his usual volume (loud), by singing and dancing and asking a thousand questions. I answered them, in an extra quiet voice, hoping my volume would influence his volume. (No.) At one point he noticed a framed Star Wars print on the wall (no idea why it was there), and he did a fantastic lunge move, while simultaneously thrusting his fists into the air and singing “WHOO WHOO, STAR WARS!!!”

The other post office goers were politely smiling in his direction and probably hoping he didn’t talk to them. He didn’t. We were almost at the front of the line, and Caden-3yr said something to me I didn’t understand. I leaned closer, and asked him twice to repeat it, so I could answer whatever he was probably asking and we could just move on already. My mistake. He loudly sighed and then put his hands on his hips. He’s three. And little. So little fists on little hips and a giant sigh can be a really cute combination. But then he raised his voice to even louder than normal and said “MOM! I AM TALKING TO MYSELF.” Another big sigh. “AND YOU. ARE. INTERRUPTING.”