Katie Rose

Debbie found $20 in the laundry tonight and asked me if I was missing any money. She said Katie Rose, who just babysat last night, said it wasn’t hers. Without me having to say much, Katie Rose then proceeded to make the case that it was mine rather than Debbie’s.

First, Katie Rose asked whose laundry it was in–the kids’ or the parents’–and Debbie said, “Mine and Daddy’s.” Then Katie Rose started looking through the laundry basket and pointed out that Debbie only had one pair of shorts with pockets, and I had a lot. Thus, it was probably mine. Debbie said, smilingly, Katie Rose didn’t know what she was talking about and should go away. Katie Rose said she was just trying to be “reasonable” in figuring out whose money it was. Debbie told her to go practice her trombone, and I said she had a good point. Furthermore, I said, the shorts were Debbie’s yard work shorts, and thus unlikely to have any cash stuffed in the pocket. For that matter, did Debbie often stick cash in her pocket? Debbie said, “Sure, sometimes!” Katie Rose objectively pointed out that Debbie usually put money in her pocketbook. Debbie told her to be quiet.

So with little encouragement from me, Katie Rose made a very logical case that the money was very likely mine. That’s my daughter! …Though, I’m not sure whose side she would have been on had the situation been reversed.

People always talk about the Terrible Two’s, but we found three to be a tougher age with our kids. At both two and three, they are trying to assert themselves, but I guess we found three more frustrating because the kids had better language skills, but still acted very headstrong. Katie Rose was particularly bullheaded, and Debbie said, “if she’s like this now, what will she be like as a teenager?” Luckily, she became much more easy to deal with by age four. In fact, Debbie called four “the Age of Reason,” since we could now talk with the kids about their actions and behavior. I think of the time from when Pete turned four as a golden age since both kids were old enough to understand us and young enough to still do what we asked (mostly).

Of course, Katie Rose still would frustrate us at times by not being quite so malleable. In the back of my mind, I would think of the dark shadow that still crosses my mother’s face when her kids’ teenage years are mentioned. Still, sometimes I think I can see how the cogs spin in Katie Rose’s brain. She thinks a lot like me, which gives me some insight into and empathy for Katie Rose’s more frustrating behaviors. Debbie sees some of the same actions and just shakes her head or says that Katie Rose is “your child.” Ever since Katie Rose was three, Debbie has sworn she was going to move out of the house as soon as Katie Rose turned 13.

As of 6:05 am today, Katie Rose is 13 years old. So we now have a teenager in the house. We had a birthday party with Debbie’s parents, and Debbie left for book club about 8:30pm, about a half-hour ago. I think she is coming back. Coincidentally and ironically, I recently took a new position that involves part-time travel, so for at least part of each month, I’m the one who has moved out. So far, though, I hear less about the problems of the then pre-teen and more about our dog Lucy, who is supposed to be my dog but who stays at Debbie’s heels and apparently wants constant attention when I’m away. I’ve got my fingers crossed (making it diff8c7lt t9 typ3) that it stays that way–Katie Rose less of a problem than the dog–at least until my travel slows down.