How to Negotiate a Better Deal

Seattle Coffee
Real conversation from our recent visit to Seattle:

"Mom, can I have a Mojito?"

"It's 7:30 in the morning. And you're 10 years old. Those numbers don't add up."

"It's non-alcoholic."

"Still a no."

"How about a coffee from the shop next door?"

"If you're asking for a Mojito at sunrise, I don't think ingesting caffeine will help you make more prudent requests."

"Hot chocolate? It's cold outside, and if we're going to be by the lake, I'll need something to keep me warm."

"Oh, okay."

See how she did that? Started with something way, way beyond what she really wanted, so by the time she worked down to a reasonable request ... well, a hot chocolate seemed an insignificant capitulation when lined up against the idea of my daughter stirring her crushed mint and club soda, even sans the rum, while buttering her blueberry pancakes.

She's a master.


2012amymacsignaturefinal
Photo taken at Marina Park in Kirkland, Washington, a delightful waterfront suburb of Seattle. It was 75-degree, sunshine perfection the entire week we were there. And I promise that's just a hot chocolate, heavy on the whip, in her hand.

2 comments:

islandermom said...

Flip flops and fleece! That's exactly what the seattlite teens sport in the summer!

Amy Mac said...

And you would know, Islandermom! I thought of you every time I drove past a sign for Mercer Island this weekend. Which was slightly more often than necessary, as we occasionally were turned around heading the wrong way on the highway, natch.