There's this book called Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In.
I haven't read it, but sometimes I wonder if Magdalena has. She is an expert at wearing down my defenses and making 'yes' look so tempting.
First, if she's planning on doing something naughty, she takes the trouble to come over and tell me, "Mama, don't see!"
If it's something that she can't hide (or hello, when I decide to check out what it is that she doesn't want me to see), she starts with "Don't say no, Mama," and then asks me for what she wants.
Of course I say no anyway. Then she says, "Mama, don't say no! Say 'ok'!" Because maybe it's all just a misunderstanding and I didn't hear her original request to not say no, right?
I still say no. Then she breaks out the big guns. "Mama, don't say no to your special Majd!" This is a variation on something we said once when a little boy at church was kicking her - "we don't kick our special Majd" (Majd is her nickname, by the way).
That almost makes me give in, if at all possible. If I still manage to hold out, Magdalena gives it one last shot: "Mama, be nice to me, I'm just a little girl!"
So if you ever notice me pausing for a good long while before deciding whether or not to grant permission for Magdalena to do something, now you know why. I need to be dang sure about that NO.
I haven't read it, but sometimes I wonder if Magdalena has. She is an expert at wearing down my defenses and making 'yes' look so tempting.
First, if she's planning on doing something naughty, she takes the trouble to come over and tell me, "Mama, don't see!"
If it's something that she can't hide (or hello, when I decide to check out what it is that she doesn't want me to see), she starts with "Don't say no, Mama," and then asks me for what she wants.
Of course I say no anyway. Then she says, "Mama, don't say no! Say 'ok'!" Because maybe it's all just a misunderstanding and I didn't hear her original request to not say no, right?
I still say no. Then she breaks out the big guns. "Mama, don't say no to your special Majd!" This is a variation on something we said once when a little boy at church was kicking her - "we don't kick our special Majd" (Majd is her nickname, by the way).
That almost makes me give in, if at all possible. If I still manage to hold out, Magdalena gives it one last shot: "Mama, be nice to me, I'm just a little girl!"
So if you ever notice me pausing for a good long while before deciding whether or not to grant permission for Magdalena to do something, now you know why. I need to be dang sure about that NO.