Another strong word...

Me: You need to be patient.
Three year old who is not yet admitting she's three: What does "patient" mean?**
Me: It means you need to wait.
Her: Waiting is hard.
Me: Yes it is.
Her. Wait is a strong word.
Me: Yes, I suppose it is.

I'm in query mode still, so I know all about how strong that word is and I know she didn't inherit any gifts of patience from me - despite my uncanny ability to wait in lines and at doctor's offices.

** Her new thing is to ask for words to be defined constantly, regardless of how well she knows the word. For instance "What is Time Out?" "What is disobey?" "What is dinner?" "What does 'take a bite' mean?" All with this doe eyed, "I don't speak English" sort of look. Oooo, she's a clever one... I find it actually very hard to sustain firm mommy voice while defining all of the words needed to reprimand her.