Never!

This morning I asked my five year old son to feed the cats.  He answered, "Hmmm, what's that word I'm looking for?  Let me think...  Oh, yeah.  NEVER!" 

I remember the first time he pulled that 'never' thing on me.  He was two, and I was just getting used to his love affair with the word 'no'. 

(You think it's so cute when your children start talking, and then they start saying things like 'NO!'  And 'Mom, just RELAX!'  And 'Mommy, Daddy just said a bad word three times.'  And 'Mommy, the sign says maximum 50 K but you are going 60 K!'  And in case any police officers are reading this, of course my son was mistaken.  I would never speed.  Never!) 

Anyway, we were in the drugstore and my son had started knocking things off shelves so I told him he had to get in the cart.  "NEVER!"  he shrieked.

"Great,"  I thought grimly.  "He's really upping the ante!  Where will it end?"

My husband and I were travelling in Germany, and in an airport we saw an unhappy little German girl.  She was screaming at her parents, "NIEN!"  So apparently it's universal.

However, I've learned a few things since that day in the drugstore.  I wasn't about to let my son get away with refusing to feed the cats.  Two can play this game.  I said to him,  "I have one word for you.  Hmmm, what is that word I'm looking for again?  Let me think...  Oh, yeah.  GROUNDED!"