Have I Created A Monster? 12-Sep-03 -- My daughter's mother (my ex-wife) gave birth to a boy today. I thought my daughter would be at least relieved if not elated, as now her mother would not be handicapped by the fragile pregnancy, as she had lost her last one at seven month's gestation. My daughter's reaction? "Now I can't go shopping for tennis shoes." My daughter is in no rush to meet her sibling. My daughter's latest line is, "What has [fill in the blank] done for me?" That is what Alex said when we saw Rosie O'Donnell in Ptown a few weeks ago. Little does my daughter know what Rosie has done for gay parenting.
Today it was "What has [my brother] done for me?" which begged the question I posed to her: "Who is more important to your life, Eminem or your brother who is your only living sibling and who will be there your entire life?" Without hesitation she said Eminem. Oh how I long for the days when she went from one Disney character obsession to another (after Barney). Then it was Pokemon, then Powerpuff girls, then some other sordid pop culture fads and now this. Rebellion is not pretty.
This morning I had to scratch out "Mathers" (Eminem's last name), which she had used as her last name on some of her school forms! I warned her never to do that even jokingly on something for school. I can only imagine what the new teachers she has in junior high must think as she just started 6th grade this week! "How many last names does that child have?" considering she has mine, her mother has had several (adopted, two marriages and birth names) and now some rapper?
My daughter is more selfish and self-absorbed than I ever thought possible. Kissing me hello and goodbye is like torture for her. I have had to make her stop using the words "hate" and "stupid" so regularly. Almost everything she says is negative, and is accompanied by a heavy sigh or a roll of the eyes. Her answers are never "Okay Dad" or "Yes Daddy". Instead they are, "I KNOW ALREADY!" Yes, she knows everything at 11. Well she is going to know what a miserable adolescence is if she doesn't remember who is in charge. Did I mention she is only 11?
This page was last updated 28-Dec-2007. |
