Questions for Dad at dinner time

During dinner every night, the kids ask Jon two questions (and generally they fight about who gets to ask which question):

How was work?

How was the car ride?

I added the latter questions in an effort to quell the fighting between Claire and David over who got to ask Jon how his day went. But, as I should have guessed, adding a second question did not end the argueing. In fact, it only amplified it. Now they not only bicker over which question they get to ask but also about who gets to ask it first. AND, the irony is that they don't seem to paying attention to Jon's responses.

As a side note: I always love hearing Jon's answers because sometimes it's a struggle for him to put into words his 8 hour office job experience (particularly when he is working on a complicated airport project - hard to describe it in kidspeak) and his 1.5 hour car drive.

Yesterday after lunch David randomly asked me how work was (the twinkle in his eye when he asked it clearly communicated the fact that he knew he was being funny).

I told him that it was fine. Then I asked him the famous two questions. Here's how the exchange went:

Deb: David, how was work?
David: (pause) It was good.
Deb: How was the car ride?
David: (pause). Fine. I had a good book to listen to.

A good reminder to me that even when we don't think kids are listening, make no mistake, they are!