Irony

Kaes and Duncan were 'watching' TV in a manner that involved more rough-housing than watching. I suddenly heard the frantic pleas of a panicked older brother as Duncan whispered, "Don't cry, don't cry, Kaes, don't cry."

My ears always prick up at the words "don't cry" so I started paying closer attention to what was happening downstairs. Kaes laughed, but in a not-quite-sure-about-it way, and then my ears relayed a message to my brain that just had to be false. I called the two of them upstairs and asked Duncan very calmly if he had told Kaes, "Pain is temporary." "Yes," he said, then his mouth dropped open and his eyes got big. "Oh!" he said, as he ran from the room.

"Pain is temporary"? This from the boy who, as a toddler, had one temper tantrum where he threw himself on the kitchen floor and banged his head. All tantrums after that involved walking over to the carpet and deliberately lying down very carefully, then screaming. This from the boy who won't even put on roller skates because he knows he will fall down. This from the boy who winces watching OTHER PEOPLE ride their bikes fast because he just knows they're going to crash. He rides his bike, but racing is not in his future.

And he tells his sister pain is temporary. Apparently, only for other people.