One Liners that Just Push me OVER the EDGE but I have to pretend that they don't

John had a one liner that just sent me reeling. I absolutely hated it. When he would be doing something completely inappropriate, I would ask him to stop, and if he was agitated or feeling aggressive, he would get right in my face and say, “Yeah? Whatcha gonna do about it? and before I had a chance to respond he would grin and say, ”That’s what I thought.“

I hated that. It was degrading, intimidating, and made me feel helpless.

Mike has one too, that he used yesterday afternoon. After the Holiday Inn conversation, the second one we’ve had, I made it clear that he was not getting rides until he did what he was supposed to do for 2 weeks. So yesterday he says, ”I know you don’t want me to ask, but can I get a ride.“ To which I responded no, tried to calmly remind him of our previous conversation, and then explained that he was not going to be getting a ride. ”Oh, he smugly said, “I see how it is.”

That statement is loaded. It isn’t simply a statement of fact. It means, “I see that you are an unloving parent, randomly withholding things from poor innocent children that any parent who is not abusive would give them.” The tone is as irritating to to me as if Edward Scissorhands was having a fight with a chalkboard.