Last night there was a breakthrough in the sibling wars. Day-Hay bested Kat very cleverly in a game of �Quiz Me.� Quiz Me is a game�at least to Kat�in which Kat asks Day-Hay questions in an attempt to stump her, thus clearly establishing�at least for Kat---Kat�s intellectual superiority. Theoretically, it then is Day-Hay�s turn to try to stump Kat but given the almost three year age difference, Day-Hay is at a real disadvantage.

�Day-Hay,� inquired Kat in the opening round. �Can you name two presidents who died on the same day?� I sat there and considered ending the game. No good ever comes of this game. Allowing it to go on generally ends with Day-Hay in tears. Ending it, however, creates its own problems. The last time I ended the game Day-Hay took it as evidence that I did not believe that she was smart enough to hold her own and I faced her wrath. Whatever the possibilities for the other participants, the rules of this game establish that mothers always lose.

So, I looked around. Day-Hay was grinning. Life was good so far. She knew this answer. If I�d looked more carefully I would have realized that something more was up. I was just so relieved that Day-Hay knew this one that I failed to notice the impishness of the grin. Mr. Philately saw it but he was not sure what to expect. �Actually,� said Day-Hay. �There are two sets of presidents who died on the same day.� Kat looked puzzled. �The first is Grover Cleveland and Grover Cleveland....*�

I wish I had had a video camera in hand. A still camera would not have done the moment justice. Across Kat�s face flitted shock, disbelief, admiration, and then the uglier hope. I held my breadth because Day-Hay clearly was not done. �Yeah, but...� began Kat, but she was cut off.

�And the second is Thomas, who lost the Jefferson, and John Adams on July 4th.� To Kat�s credit, the hope gave way to admiration. Although she did not pick up her hands and clap, she verbally applauded. She let Day-Hay know just how wonderful the answer was.

If this entry were a fairy tale, we would all live happily ever after and never play Quiz Me again. But this is not a fairy tale, this is real life and these are siblings. Quiz Me will rear its ugly head again. And yet, something has changed. Day-Hay won the unwinnable and Kat can no longer be quite as sure of her advantage. The playing field is beginning to level and Kat might just lose because age is counting less and cleverness more�and Day-Hay is a clever girl.

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