Your Tone!

When the girls were younger, if I were talking sternly to them, they would often reply to my words with "Stop yelling at me."  Of course with my patience and rational personality, my response would usually entail "This is not yelling.  This is my angry voice.  If you want to hear yelling. THIS IS YELLING."  Not among my prettiest parenting moments I admit.  However in my defense, the times that there was actual YELLING in my house were few.  (Usually after I was told I had been yelling and I had not been.)

Jocelyn is particularly in tune with the changes of people's inflection. One time, when she was about 8 years old, were at the grocery store in the cashier line behind a very rushed person.  The lady spoke quickly to the cashier.  Jocelyn turned to me and said "That was rude." We talked in the car about the difference in being hurried, and being rude. Jocelyn pointing out that one could be both.  :)

Jocelyn, I saw this and thought of you!

Even now, Jocelyn notices subtle changes in the way someone says something.  Not in their word choice, but in their inflection and speed. (I hadn't connected before her chosen major Psychology and her skills of emotional detection before now.)  So when I saw this quote, I immediately thought of her.   My first reaction was to laugh, and post it here.  However I must say that I really do think it matters how we say things.