“Okay, guys, who’s going to help me make the beef stew for dinner?”
“Not me.”
“Not me.”
“This reminds me of a story about The Little Red Hen.”
“This reminds me,” says Irene, “of a story about a girl with nothing to do with her brother.”
Touché.
***
Mary is bouncing in her high chair
As I hand Colum and Irene a bowl of grapes.
“Make sure you don’t let Mary have any grapes,” I warn.
“They are the perfect size and shape to get caught in her windpipe and to stop her from breathing.
Even toddlers need them cut in half.”
“Right, ” says Colum.
“That would make a baby die. Well, first they would choke and then they would die.
Isn’t that right, Mom? They would choke first and then die?”
“Uh, I guess that’s right.”
God forbid we leave out a step.