Repetez S'il Vous Plait

I've never been one to repeat myself. If you can't catch it the first time, well, too bad for you. I'm offended by being asked too many times to repeat myself. I do my part by enunciating and you do your part by listening. We all have our little issues and this is one of mine. And although I recognize that I am at the extreme of the spectrum, I've yet to meet someone who enjoys repeating themselves. This dislike of repeating has led, in part, to my failure to learn a second language and probably also the reason my hair isn't as clean as it could be (Lather, rinse, re-what, I don't think so). So you can imagine the trial my days have become because of the amount of repeating one must do with a two-year-old. Mind-numbing. Requests are rarely obeyed the first time they are uttered and in an effort to repeat myself fewer times I often resort to using a certain tone of voice that generally gets better results. But, I'm not stupid, I know that she will soon grow used to that tone of voice and I will need to change tactics once again. I've seen these mothers who repeat things endlessly in a sort of calm, patient tone that makes me wonder: Are they truly that patient or on drugs? When I use that voice, the "patient" one, it is the one that my mom and sisters have perfected, the one that masks the exasperation underneath. It is a desperate attempt not to reveal the frenzied state that this sort of constant demand on your patience creates. In short it is fake, really fake. But becoming a mother does not automatically reform all the personality traits one has, in fact it exacerbates them. So, I do the best I can and I strongly believe that Nora will be fine although I suspect she too will hate to repeat herself.