Considering that he’s growing up with three sisters, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that poor Tage has been hen-pecked pretty much from the get-go. Generally speaking, he’s a mild-mannered little guy, most often content to let things slide for the sake of peace, even when he knows he’s getting the short end of the deal.

Imagine my surprise, then, when in the middle of yet another of Petra’s rants I heard him tell her, sternly, “When I say ‘be quiet,’ you be quiet, or I will bite you as hard as I can.”

That sort of thing being unacceptable around here, no matter how much one is provoked, I called him in to me for a little chat. He leaped to defend himself, pointing out that even though the threat failed to quiet her, he did no biting. I granted him that, but reiterated that even saying it wasn’t okay, and that if he had a problem with someone, he should come to me or Olof instead of resorting to violence.

As tends to be his wont, he agreed without further protest, and went back to whatever game they’d been playing. I admit, though, that in my own mind I was giving him a little pat on the back for standing up for himself. Keeping the peace is one thing, but I don’t like to see him let the girls ride roughshod over him. And they will, given an inch. Oh, how they will.