Tone Deaf

little kid still calls me princess a lot of the time. Sometimes he jazzes it up and calls me Princess Peach or Princess Araya (that's what he calls Princess Leia). "My sweet princess mommy," is heartwarming and endearing and I love this whole princess thing the majority of the time.

(What girl wouldn't?)

But some of the time, he comes across as rude and condescending; "Now listen up, princess," he'll tell me, speaking all slow and sassy, as I try to correct his behavior. (He always has an explanation or some negotiation to do--homeboy might end up being a politician or a lawyer. Not the good kind.)

"little kid, don't you talk to me like that!"

"Like what? I always call you princess."

"Yeah, but you know what I mean. I don't like your tone."

"I don't know tones, princess, I'm a 4-year-older."

He knows tone. I know he knows tone.

And he better watch his.