Pushing and Pulling

Big Princess and I are in the middle of, well, finding middle ground. She’s not a child. She’s a little more than 6 months from leaving the title teenager behind.

Mostly adult, with tinges of silly girl around the edges.

She’s been away at college for the better part of seven months. Living, more or less, on her own. Making her own rules, bedtimes, cleaning schedules. Deciding when she’ll work, when and what she’ll eat, with whom and how she’ll spend her time.

BAM! Then she’s back in my house, with my rules and schedules.

She jokingly said, “Hey, I’m a guest in your home. Ya’ll should serve me.” She laughed until she saw I wasn’t. I wanted to remind her that a guest wouldn’t leave dirty clothes and wet towels all over the floor or feel free to fart at will.

It’s a fine line that we are balancing. Me, trying to loosen the reins of childhood. Her, trying to stretch those reins even further. Me, still demanding respect and fair work distribution amongst the members of the family. Her, seeing how far she can push towards doing what she wants within my boundaries.

So far its a beautiful ballet...