Loathing or Something
I've been feeling a bit out of touch.
I don't know if any particular skirt length is out of style right now.
I have no idea which cell phone would work best for me.
I know nothing about the latest fiction.
I know that my camera can do many things, but I can't tell you how to do anything other than point and shoot.
These are all things to which I used to devote quite a bit of time and energy.
I'm starting to feel disconnected and fizzled--in need of a new Something, but unsure of what that Something should be.
Meredith, because she can sense when I need a fresh challenge, stirred it up yesterday by telling me that:
1. She no longer wants to be my kid.
2. She wants me to move out.
3. She's done with me forever.
4. She hates me.
Like any other thin-skinned mom would do, I took a deep breath, sent her (with Jeff) away for the night, and taught myself how to knit two socks at once.
(EDITED TO ADD: With the help of a book, of course. I'm no wizard.)
So there's my Something.
Incidentally, when Meredith returned home this morning, she told me that she loves me.
Two hours later, she stuck her tongue out at me, stomped her foot, and once again proclaimed her hatred.
(I suppose my "Try to drink some of the broth from your soup." request was a bit too much for her.)
She's really Something.
Submitted by
blackbird
at 1/29/2008 3:08:36 PM- Why not send her for a weekend with Aunt Blackbird?
I'll straighten her ass right out.
Submitted by
FP
at 1/29/2008 3:18:37 PM- Jaynee--I fear that something wicked this way comes. It seems that all 4 and 5 year olds are staging a coup.
Blackbird--Actually, I would like it more if you straightened MY ass right out--over fried fish sandwiches and/or coffee. Off to Tuvalu I go!
Submitted by
Erin
at 1/29/2008 3:23:40 PM- I still remember being 7 and yelling at the top of my lungs that I HATED my mother...I actually still feel guilty for it. For the record, she's one of my favorite people! Hope Meredith converts soon and la casa de pudding is full of snuggles and hugs.
Submitted by
Becky
at 1/29/2008 3:28:07 PM- I don't know about the phone or the camera either. And my 5-year-old has been telling me lately that he doesn't want me living in his house anymore. I just nod and sip my margarita.
Submitted by
FP
at 1/29/2008 3:39:25 PM- Erin--Meredith's grandma has told me several times that if the toddler years are rough, the teenage years are a breeze. If that's true, we'll be sailing smoothly in about nine years.
Becky--Where do they come up with that stuff? AND, how tempting is it to pack a suitcase?
Submitted by
Susan
at 1/29/2008 3:46:06 PM- Believe me - as sad as it is, you eventually get used to being told that. The rare occasion I hear it now, I'm like, Yeah? Whatever!
Submitted by
Karaoke Diva
at 1/29/2008 3:47:22 PM- Wow, I am not looking forward to that stage. Sorry MC's not being pro-mommy right now. Hope she gets her panties out of a twist soon.
To make you feel better, I hereby give you permission to buy more yearn! ;-)
Submitted by
Susan
at 1/29/2008 3:51:32 PM- Oh - almost forgot to comment on your new skillz. I am so envious! So far all I have under my knitting belt is scarves and dish clothes. I aspire to be like you one day!
Submitted by
Kathy
at 1/29/2008 3:56:53 PM- You can knit two more socks than I can... at all, if that's any consolation.
(Plus my cell phone is five years old and I stopped wearing skirts two decades ago. See, we're all out of touch.)
Submitted by
You can call me, 'Sir'
at 1/29/2008 4:19:28 PM- If by Something you mean fickle, then yes. Yes, she is.
Submitted by
Gail
at 1/29/2008 4:45:05 PM- Susan is right. You do get used to hearing it. I even got to the point that when they said "I hate you" I came back with "That's okay, I love you enough for both of us." That pissed them off so much it shut them right down.
I'm also a scarf and dishcloth knitter. Though I did just finish my first baby sweater and a felted bag. I'm trying to get up the nerve to try a pair of socks. By the way, I friended you on Ravelry last week. Sorry.
Submitted by
Badger
at 1/29/2008 5:18:12 PM- I have a Something kid, too. She doesn't tell me she hates me, though. She's not that direct. She's more of a passive-aggressive, sly, make-you-wish-you-were-dead type. I keep trying to sell her to the gypsies, but they keep bringing her back.
And get the hell out of here, with the two socks at once! I don't believe that's even POSSIBLE. That photo proves nothing!
Submitted by
Paul is a Hermit
at 1/29/2008 6:25:56 PM- Let's wait and see the finished product. I mean, that's a good start but there's no socks yet.
Can I do it?
Noooo.
Submitted by
tut-tut
at 1/29/2008 6:32:01 PM- Oh, don't take it personally; wait until she reaches double digits, because then you'll REALLY have to be all Zen about it.
Anyway, how do you like that sock technique? I understand that some love it and some hate it; there is no in-between.
Submitted by
Carroll
at 1/29/2008 7:08:15 PM- Two socks today -- four socks tomorrow!
I like Gradnma's strategy for helping you hang in through the anti-mommy stage. Be sure to report back and tell us what she has to say about all this when MC turns into an actual teenager ;-)
Submitted by
tortoiseshelly
at 1/29/2008 8:52:00 PM- Amen, sister! After taking 6 months to finish the second sock on the last pair I knit for my mom, I too have cast on to learn the two socks at once, although I've rather stupidly tried to combine that with my first toe ups (frogged three times thus far). With skills like yours, I'm certain you'll have better luck.
Sounds like you're entering a rather adventurous, turbulent time with MC. I foresee you running a yarn shop before this is all over.
Submitted by
Alli
at 1/30/2008 7:48:01 AM- Tell her it's opposite day! I think it will be legal for MDs to prescribe Xanax for moms of teenagers soon! We'll be okay.
Submitted by
Aimee Greeblemonkey
at 1/30/2008 9:56:00 AM- How old is Meredith again? Because I am very scared for my future.
Submitted by
Summer
at 1/30/2008 10:52:01 AM- I think the Thirteens are in coup cahoots with the Fours and Fives, FP. My advice: ready the arsenal and fill the flasks! It's going to be a long siege.
Submitted by
Velma
at 1/30/2008 11:15:36 AM- I am seriously in need of a family banishment right now. I just want to send them all somewhere that is not HERE.
Submitted by
Laural
at 1/30/2008 11:56:44 AM- Oh, I love Gail's comback: "That's okay, I love you enough for both of us."
My three and a half year old just started saying she hates us. My husband threatens to send her to live with is parents in Brazil, which brings on lots of hugs and kisses and "I was just teasing, Daddy. I love you, I really do." But pretty soon she'll realize he's just bluffing, and I'll need a comment like Gail's.
Submitted by
Amy in KC
at 1/30/2008 2:01:26 PM- My kids are only 2, so we're not there yet. But I was on the phone with my sister once when my then-five-year-old niece said, "I hate you! You're a mean, ugly Mommy!"
Her response? "Yes, well, I'm YOUR mean ugly Mommy and you still have to put the crayons away."
You are welcome to come here and stay with me for a few days. Fat Tires & Indian food make everything better.
Submitted by
Robin
at 1/30/2008 9:01:49 PM- You cope with your kid the same way I cope with mine! Clara Jane told me on Monday that she loves her daddy a lot more than she loves me. I banished the lot of them.
I, too, am hopelessly out of touch. I think it comes with being preoccupied by the hatred directed my way in my home. I'm pretty up-to-date on fiction, though, if you want recommendations.
Bravo on the dual sock knitting!
Submitted by
Caryn
at 1/30/2008 10:15:35 PM- Please tell me when you find out about the skirt length. I used to pride myself on my fashion sense, but now that I work with mostly teenagers, I am pretty sure I will not be able to pull off what they have going on right now. Plus, I now subscribe to Good Housekeeping instead of InStyle(hooray for coke rewards and the free magazine subscription!)
Submitted by
Cheap Like Me
at 2/1/2008 2:10:09 PM- I hear you! My daughter wanted to move out when she was 3 or 4, and her friend did too. I got hours of amusement out of picturing them living in their own apartment downtown, riding their tricycles to preschool and eating nothing but leftover Annie's macaroni and cheese.
Submitted by
Value wIT
at 2/4/2008 8:56:55 PM- Kids...go figure. It's not them talking, just their hormones. Be a constant rock in the ocean of emotion. Let the waves crash on you and wash away.
There must be an anti-mommy illness going around. Last week CootieGirl requested a new mommy. I told her that hurt my feelings and she just laughed. The next day she and I were having a blast doing something and I said, "So, you still want a new mommy," and she immediately said, "Yes, of course."