Kina doesn’t punch her mother; that behavior is reserved only for me. It’s also true that Kina punches me only when nobody is looking, which makes it difficult for Laurea to understand why I’m being punched. It’s not clear that the punching is worse, in aggregate, than the sort of headbutting and scratching behavior Kina once subjected me to, but after a stretch of relative détente, this escalation of hostilities has not gone unnoticed. I’ve tried all the things—time out, prompting sympathy, ignorance. At this point, I’m just going to chalk it all up to being four and cover my face whenever possible. This, too, shall pass.

dad