Clarification

Yesterday Owen got frustrated and yelled at me which is totally unacceptable. After he apologized, I was explaining to him how I expected him to talk to me. Here's how our conversation went:

Me: Owen, when you talk to Mama, I expect you to use a nice tone.

Owen: (looking confused) What's "nice tone."

Me: (trying to keep a serious face) It means you need to talk in a normal voice.

Owen: Oh, that's what it is. (like, "Mom, why didn't you just say that in the first place?")

I got tickled because he hears, "Talk in a normal voice," every time he whines because whining is one of our biggest pet peeves at the Hill house. It was funny that he was really listening to my mini lecture and trying to figure out what I was telling him. I can imagine him thinking, "Okay, what is she talking about...I want to get it right because I'm not enjoying her tone right now." Ha!