Claire and Margot have been on a streak of near-incessant bickering. Claire has a strong inclination to always argue - and to go to any lengths to have the last word. Margot possesses an uncanny ability to say or do the one thing that's guaranteed to put Claire over the edge. The result has been a lot of discussion with Claire about not taking the bait, and about how to avoid these nonsensical, roundabout arguments with her sister.
We were about three minutes into our drive to Connecticut this weekend when we had to stop the car, separate Claire and Margot, and move Claire from the third (highly-coveted) row up to the second (babyish) row of our Honda Pilot. Despite the relocation, the bickering continued. Finally, Don intervened:
Don: "Claire, Margot is provoking you. Do you want to escalate, or are you going to ignore her?"
Claire: "Dad, I'd prefer to escalate."
