Little Dude gives me a look into the future

Princess and I get along very well, however there are times when our personalities clash. She is entirely too smart for her own good and this usually causes me stress in some fashion. I can't remember the reason this time, however Princess and I were angry with each other. We all sat down at the kitchen table for a snack before rolling into nap time. (Princess' school has early release days, in which I insist the kids take a nap for my sanity.)

Normally I place myself between Princess and Little Dude at the table, otherwise it is usually fight central. Not fist fights; it's the whiny, annoying kind of fighting. However, this time Little Dude sat between Princess and I. He may only be 4, but he's perceptive, very perceptive. I guess he could feel the tension and he decided he wanted to change something.

"Sissy, I love you!"
At this point, Princess isn't responding so my glaring makes her respond, "I love you too brother."

"Mommy, I love you!"
"I love you too, Little Dude."

Several moments pass in silence.

"SISSY!"
"What?!"
"TELL MOMMY YOU LOVE HER!"

I hate to admit, that in her silence, my first thought was: I am going to be the better person here...first.
"I love you Princess."
"I love you too, mommy."

Then for some reason, we all just start laughing. Evidently Little Dude has the same ability to sense anger or stress like Military Dad does. The only difference is, Little Dude hasn't figured out the power he now has. Military Dad can diffuse my anger or stress very well, with a simple, frustrating comment. He makes me choose whether I want to still be angry over something stupid, or try not to laugh. Trust me, trying not to laugh is much harder than being (or continuing to act) angry!

This is the point where I had a sobering thought that this scene would happen again and not too far off in the future. Princess at some point is going to start getting crazier, as all pre-adolescent girls do. I'm not about to let things slide, or whatever adults are supposed to do with their kids acting nutso.

I saw ourselves sitting at that exact table going through this whole episode again. Military Dad threatens he will volunteer for deployments when she hits a certain age and our cycles sync up. So, I guess it's nice to know that since Little Dude will be held hostage in a house with two crazy people, he will be able to diffuse most situations. He's even good at disappearing when he knows stuff is about to hit the fan. (Normally, started by his actions.)