any takes on this?
I have three ladies in my home. One my age, one 7 and one 10, soon to be 11....that's the one I'd like to talk about....I should include a forth. A large standard poodle who I refuse to walk because she has a pink collar/leash and a classic cut.....I and a beta fish are the only men in the house. We'r out numbered.
My 10 1/2 year old is an over achiever; type A personality a bit. She's a straight A, all honors child in a gifted class, of which I'm quite proud of. However, she's also cunning, manipulative, and strong willed. Failure is not an option by her nature.
So, last Monday, as we where sitting down for dinner, I began to make conversation starting with my youngest. I pulled out the old standard; how was school today." My 7 year old began by telling the highlight of her day which centered around exchanging Valentine cards in class. I turned to my oldest and asked how that same event was for her class.
She looked at me seriously, slapped down her fork, pushed away from the table and ran to her room. I looked at my wife in bewilderment as she shrugged her shoulders as if un-phased. My 7 year old seemed to have a rather sinister smile, as if totally amused by the whole thing.
I excused myself from the table to check on my oldest. As I walked away my wife says.."I would not go in there. Let her stew." I ignored that and checked anyway.
Knocking on the door of her room seemed to solicit sounds of whimpers from her buried head as she lay on the bed. ....long story short, she did not bring cards to exchange that day. she said the teacher did not send a note about it.
True to male style I began offering advice to fix the situation. Something like; "well you knew it was Valentines day. Every year your class exchanges cards like every other elementary class. Maybe next time you should be more prepared and have them." .........and now for the response from the mouth of a 10.5 year old girl....."OH SO IT'S MY FAULT! Your saying it's my fault when I was at the store with momma and she did not buy them for me because I did not know if we where exchanging them! ...."Yes I suppose it is"; I said, and walked out wondering what just happened again...?
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Then it hit me.....my youngest brought this subject up for a reason. She was at the store with my wife and oldest when they purchased cards for her class, but not her sisters. I go back to the kitchen to get the rest of the story and it's turns out that my wife and oldest got into a little "Cat-Fight" about this while out shopping last week. These little tiffs have been accruing more frequently lately.
My wife is in full control of our girls, and I think my oldest is starting to push back in resentment. Unlike my youngest who goes more with the flow, my oldest is quite sure she does not need to be told or reminded what to do. She knew about the Valentine cards and did not like being reminded to get them, so she invented a scenario to one-up mom by saying the teacher did not say they would be exchanging them. This brought on a heated exchange.:bicker My wife let her learn her own lesson for being foolish, and my youngest lit the fire at the table for her own amusement knowing it would rip a scab off a wound.
What is wrong with you women?
.....Is this a small taste of the drama I'm in for for the next 10-15 years?
Anyone have girls? teens or pre-teens? I try to pick my battles carefully, but I stepped right into this one. This was not like her. She's usually very logical and takes a more analytical approach to things. We've always gotten along due to our natures, but this was odd for me. It's like they all 3 had these alterer motives for acting this way. Any ideas of what's going on with this scenario? I know it's a small issue, but I can't help but think this is the start of something brewing.