Article: Lessons from a two-year-old.(Finishing viewpoint)(Column)

"Can't" has become a new four-letter-word around our house lately, thanks to my enterprising two-year-old. He's a determined kid, who refuses to take no for an answer, even when something seems physically impossible.

"Touch the ceiling, Mama," he'll say, when clearly it's out of my reach. Or, after he's done numerous somersaults in our living room, he'll turn to me and say, "You do it." Never mind that it's been decades since I last attempted a somersault, and even then I was no good at it.

Telling him "I can't" always elicits the same response. My son tilts his head to the side, narrows his eyes in a defiant challenge and commands, "Try it."

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