between brothers.....

today, on my way home from picking up ben from school - ben and will started having a conversation that was pretty intense...

ben: you know, i am the boss of you, will.
will: no, you are not. if you are the boss of me then you have to buy me shoes.
ben: i am not buying you shoes, but i am the boss of you.
will: no, you aren't. you aren't a parent.
ben: you don't have to be a parent to be a boss. jamie is our boss and she's not a parent.
will: yes she is.
ben (to me): mommy is jamie a parent?
me: no, she's not.
ben: see will, she is our boss and she's not a parent.
will: well, you have to be a grown-up to be a boss.
ben: whatever will ... i am still your boss. now pick up that penny for me.

it was much funnier than my illustration here. you would of had to hear their tone and the certainty in their answers to one another. sometimes, i get lucky and hear their conversations. it seems pretty intelligent to me and i'm amazed at how well they spar with one another and sometimes - only sometimes - i get lucky and it ends peacefully.