By BERN MORLEY
Hey there 13 year old, WTF DID YOU COME FROM?
Look, it shouldn’t be a massive surprise. It’s not like I woke up a month ago and there was suddenly this teenager residing in my home that I hadn’t allowed for. The attitude isn’t new. It’s amplified, sure, but it’s certainly always been there. The moody, often irrational reaction to a normal question is however, quite the new development.
I would say a year ago that we had, at least 50% of the time, a typical 12 year old daughter. One that could and would accept without question, the request to put her dirty clothes in the laundry. One that understood that showers were something she participated in on a daily basis and that took ten to fifteen minutes, tops.
Now, well now the simple request to do either of these things can send her into an apocalyptic styled meltdown. It’s like this foreigner that looks EXACTLY like my daughter has taken up residence in her bedroom upstairs. Sure, there are still glimpses of the old Maddie and on occasions, I feel closer to her than I ever have, but to be honest, I am simply struggling to keep up.
So here are some of the tell-tale signs you have a newly minted teen in your midst…
1. THE HOUR OF SHOWER
This is exactly as it sounds. Maddie will decide, seemingly without rhyme or reason that she needs a shower right NOW. Right now, being around 11 o’clock at night.