An Unwelcome Visitor

Growing Up - An Unwelcome Visitor

We have a new guest in our house. A guest that no one has invited. She only visits now and again although her visits are becoming more frequent.

I am sad to admit that no one in our house particularly likes her. She is volatile, demanding, unpredictable, grumpy and often distracted. In her world of what is ‘cool’ its friends that matter and life is terribly boring without them. On her worst visits she has been known to slam doors, sometimes rattling pictures off the wall.

Interestingly our girl-child clearly does not like this visitor. I know this because girl-child is nowhere to be seen when unwanted guest appears. But the most disturbing thing about this guest is that she looks almost identical to girl-child to the point where I often get them confused. It is most unnerving to greet what appears to be my lovely 10 year old girl-child only to discover it’s the ghastly look-alike visitor pouting back at me. Just as suddenly the guest disappears and my lovely daughter is back. It is most unsettling to wake up not knowing who will be in the house today– child or fledgling teenager.

Some days I’d like to toss this ghastly visitor out on to the street, but while I don’t wish to admit it, this guest evokes a few childhood memories in me. I too remember when nothing was right, my parents were so very uncool, and life was always unfair. Everyone in the world had every technical device that I did not (although in my day it was colour TV I coveted as opposed to Xbox and Nintendo DS). The entire world also got to hang out with their friends all weekend, where as I was unfairly forced to stay home and learn to sew or worse pull ragwort on the farm. How shameful it was to admit to my friends on Monday what I’d been doing in the weekend.

All in all life is getting a little more complex. Although I never thought this would happen, I find myself fondly remembering when the days were filled with feeding and potty training challenges rather than this growing psychological torment. Worst still I am told the visits will increase. I guess in time I’ll learn to get used to my new bolshie, stubborn guest. I may even get to quite like her.


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