The stropping is over, but not the the whatthef---ery

[DisgraceToTheYChromosome]

DD has emerged from the terrible time with her parents still married, her liver intact and a reasonable amount of piercings.

But my God the child is weird!
"If I do this with my tummy it looks like an inter gluteal cleft".
"Is it Friday? I always feel warmer on Friday".
"Just so's you know, I'm not gay"
"Hmmm. I just wanted to say that to make my nose hairs tickle"
Along with laughing for no apparent reason, eating garlic bread for breakfast, patting my bald patch for luck and using Bombay Sapphire as perfume.

As she's the first teenage girl I've observed at close quarters, is this usual?

I don't know. Will let you know when mine gets to the other side of the teenage years!

(She sounds great!)

Who wants 'normal'?! She sounds individual and real, which I'd say is great!

Your opening sentence is now my goal for both my ds and dd through their teen years! (Disclaimer: both still preschoolers at the moment). As soon as I'm somewhere I can I'm going to copy and save that.

She sounds brilliant.

Mrs Pickle

Who wants to be normal?

She sounds great.

Thanks MrsPickle. The most brilliant thing is her sheer likeability.

I will warn you that the corrosive effects of a teenager on a marriage shouldn't be underestimated: one particularly unpleasant trick is make both of you appear the bad guy simultaneously. You have to constantly compare notes to work out where the lies are, never show weakness while avoiding the urge to slaughter and keep an emergency valium handy.

Easier in the old days of course, as long as you don't mind fucked up kids who keep looking at their watches while you lie dying.

I shared that sentence with my dad who weathered 3 teenagers, all of us difficult in our own ways but I was the most destructive I think. I now have a great relationship with my parents and they celebrate 40 years married next year and are enjoying each other's company very much as they start to wind down towards retirement.

He produced what I'd describe as a wry chuckle.

Yes, have one from me as well.

Odd thing is that some of the grosser incidents elicit an immediate reaction of 'Attagirl!', but since these usually involve a bucket of vodka you can't show approval.