Leave me Alone


Once my daughter got to the stage where she could go down to play by herself without needing an escort, I used to insist that she must go down to play every day. You’d think she would have been happy to hear this, but no. True to the I-only-do-the-opposite-of-what-you-say philosophy of all kids, she demanded to know why. Honesty is the best policy, right? So I told her: “I want some peace”.

She has always been both amused and mildly offended by that line, even as I continued to use it whenever I wanted to get her out of the house… to play or to one of her many classes over the years (yoga, swimming, skating, whatever).

And then recently, she told us that she was going to the other room to watch TV by herself. And added that neither of us should come to that room since she wanted to “watch TV in peace”, without us disturbing her. Ouch!

Another time, she told me to leave the room saying she had “booked the room”. I guess I should be glad that she’s still years away from keeping the door to her room closed all the time, a “Stay Out! That Means You” poster on it, and insisting that we knock before we enter.

On the other hand, maybe this is the first step in her starting to stay in her room most of the time… eventually, even sleeping in it. Alone. Hey, a guy can always hope, right?

Comments

  1. Ramiah KumarJune 11, 2018 at 4:14 PM

    It is time you write a story or two involving children and parents! You should try your hand in fiction too now, involving children parents, needless to add - blended in humor. Maybe you will be able to make the real-life effect quite effective, so that the story point (i.e. what the short has as climax/clincher) will come out smooth.

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