Perilous Thoughts

Order of Command

Hmm, my daughter is a teenager. A grown teenager at that. Although she's still in high school, she is eighteen, grown, according to US laws and some of her actions. Yes, some of them. 'Some' is the operable word here.

None of those 'some' grown gestures include paying bills. Therefore, to me, she is still a child, although a teen, a child in this house. So, rules still apply. What I say goes. I said, for instance, when my daughter got off work today, "Wash the towels."

Now I didn't know or understand that 'I' was supposed to gather them and have them neatly separated and packed for her to just throw into the washer. My concern was much greater. Hell, I was thinking about the high light and gas bill and how long I'd be able to maintain these luxuries of clean towels. I had just barely paid the rent, car repairs and a few other utilities.

Now, what on earth makes this grown child think that 'I' should make washing towels so simple for her? She almost sounds like my grown male child that asked me why I hadn't swept the floor and prepared the mop water, since I wanted the floor that I was bitching about being so clean, mopped.

Well, that attitude was such a problem. For one, I was/am the parent-adult here. Now, how on earth does a child fix their nonpaying bill asses mouths to ask stupid questions about any darned thing? Just do the shit and thank me later with a good report card and later on in life, thank me for giving you direction, responsibility and something to do other than begging and expecting something for nothing.

This leads me to the present issue; my teenaged, yet grown, high school daughter. I guess since she works and pays her own cell phone, buy her own clothes and car maintenance. See, the way I see it, if she doesn't want to do any chores, she can 1.) move where she does not have to do chores, or 2.) do the shit and get a grown ups opinion on contributing to the household.