How to Outsmart a Preschooler

You can't. At least, I can't. Maybe another preschooler could, but then probably only by accident. My child is whip-smart and the more I try to out-brain her, the more frustrated I get. She is as stubborn as that old mule, Number 7, from The Dukes of Hazard. And yes, arguing with her makes me feel like Uncle Jesse except without Bo and Luke to get me out of 'this cotton-pickin' fix', so I wind up feeling like I'm going to end up in the county jail a) for being a bad parent and b) for having bad hair. It's not fair. At least in Hazard County Jail you get to eat fried chicken while using the jiggle-belt exercise machine. If you are Boss Hogg. Which sometimes I am.

The other day I discovered Veronica watching CNN. It must have come on after her Clifford show ended, or maybe she knows how to use the remote. Anyway, it was the financial report, and she was actually listening. Not just listening, but paying attention. At least it wasn't Fox News. That would have been too much to bear.