I don't like it either anymore too bad

My 2 1/2 year old is a rascal. He even knows it because he sometimes says, "Neil is a punk," after doing something rotten. I can't imagine where he got that.

His favorite new thing to say more often than I care to hear it is, "I don't like it either anymore too bad!" This phrase has morphed and changed over time. It first started out as, "I like it," even though he clearly was stating that he didn't. Once he got the concept of "don't" down then it became, "I don't like it." As you can guess the additional words were added until it became, "I don't like it either anymore too bad."

I feel I must explain the "too bad" part since that was all my fault. When you're trapped in the house with youngsters, it's easy to become rather infantile in response to some of their annoying behavior. I swear Neil can inspire a tamper-like tantrum in me after hearing him repeat something annoying and whiny for 3 hours. So, being the mature person that I am, I once responded, "too bad" when he kept whining for something silly like watching a video of himself ("Neil show") or not liking getting his diaper changed. Yes, it was sweet and understanding of me but, if you've spent considerable time with a 2 year old who has a very profound sense of entitlement, you'd understand 100%. Anyway, realizing there was some power in that phrase, my son gladly added it to his now favorite phrase.

The funny thing is that right now I totally know what he feels like when he says it because I feel like throwing a tantrum myself. I'm not the least bit excited about having to have surgery. I don't like not knowing whether I have cancer. I probably don't but, damn, I have enough shit going on. I'm the mother of 3 small children and I'm not really excited about the possibility that their lives (not to mention mine but this is how moms are) might get severely disrupted if mommy gets sick. Ah, jeez. So, in the spirit of my dear, darling toot of a son, I feel compelled to scream at the heavens, "I don't like it either anymore too bad!"