Liz Learns Sarcasm. . . Hooray!

There are certain milestones that a parent looks for their child to accomplish at certain ages. Walking, for example, should be achieved between 12 and 18 months of age. By age two your child should have a vocabulary of 50-300 words. Between 3 and 4 years of age, toilet training should be mastered.

Apparently, sarcasm gets learned right around 7 1/2 years.

So I'm cooking dinner this evening, the television is blaring football (because Chris's beloved basement television has died and he now feels the need to watch all sporting events on the kitchen TV), Chris and his friend Justin are yelling at the television (because this apparently affects the player's performance and therefore the outcome of the game), Liz and Sam are having a very loud Robo-Dinosaur vs. Robo-Man battle right under my feet, a dog is barking, and did I mention I have a pounding headache due to the delightful cold I have acquired from one or more of the outbreak monkeys who sprang forth from my womb and became instantly unable to walk past my drink without stopping to backwash into it.

So I (very sweetly and with marked patience) say to Liz and Sam, "Is there a reason you can't play with those toys downstairs in your playroom?"

And my lovely little second grader says, "Uh, because if we were downstairs, then it would be quiet in here and you would be able to concentrate on making dinner."

And Chris looks at me and says, "Oh great, Liz has learned sarcasm!"