Kids These Days

Last night I was chatting to my mom on the phone while playing wand toy with the cats and not really focusing on the wand toy part of it.

I got around to a complaint about the new kid hired straight out of college who'd made a basic chemistry error (the kind they should have taught you about in college) and my general exasperation with people coming into the lab with no experience.

In this complaint, I voiced the exasperated "Kids these days!" comment that everyone over a certain age says and everyone under a certain age is annoyed by. (I felt sure I was in the latter category but apparently not).

Colby was about ten feet away from me. He looked back over his shoulder (he'd been chasing the toy) and said, in a very indignant and protesting voice, "meow!" Mom even heard him through the phone which was not on speaker.

I said, "not you guys, Colby," and he gave a huff with his shoulders and focused back on the toy.

It occurred to me then that I do call them my kids. Just usually when I'm talking about them, not to them. So I didn't know that they understood that word could mean them!

The hazards of teaching your cats to understand English...