Please tell me this is going on in your house too…
“What’s wrong?” Mom earnestly inquires.
“Nothing.” Daughter replies.
“Listen … You just stopped mid-conversation and huffed off. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”… pregnant pause … “And – I did NOT huff off.”
“Uh – yes you did,” Mom says, looking for a witness – never a good strategy. But said mother succumbs to her immature urge for justification and forces a nearby sibling on the stand. “You saw it… She huffed!”
Innocent Bystander looks toward sibling then back to Mom. IB can’t stop herself from throwing the squirmer under the bus, “She huffed alright.”
In disbelief the huffer eyes Innocent Bystander in shock that quickly turned to indignant fire, “I DID NOT HUFF!!!!” Self pity crocodile tears squeeze their way our of the huffer’s eyes and splash to the floor. “You’re ALWAYS against me!” she says to us both. “Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo-sob-sob-sob.”
Nothing sure seems like something.
Mom could probably park her feelings at the door, leave the sparring gloves at the gym (if she ever went to the gym!) and meet the kid with a bit more sensitivity. If only it wasn’t 105 degrees in June (!), maybe we’d all be a bit less on edge. Thankfully, Daughter – after some space and a kind word from Mom confesses her “nothing”. It really wasn’t much, but seemed like something … to her. Just a girl needing some patience, a little encouragement and love as she navigates her way into womanhood.
Thanks for walking the road with me.
-Kay
