A Revelation

On many occasions recently in dealing with our teenaged daughters, my husband and I have found ourselves deferring the handling of one to each other.   He gets along better with our oldest; I get along better with our second daughter.  It just so happens that Katie (18) resembles his side of the family, and people say Molly (16) looks just like me.  After an incident involving them both this evening, and my once again telling him to deal with “his” daughter, and him coming back afterwards telling me what “my” daughter’s part in the whole thing was, it occurred to me that the things I admire the most in our Molly are traits she shares with my husband.  She is fiercely loyal to her friends.  She has a great sense of justice.  She is focused and driven – when she sees something that needs to be done, she will usually tackle it without being asked, and do it till it is done.  A case in point was her doing laundry all day today – not a usual chore of hers.    But she has a quick temper.  The things that drive me crazy about  Katie are the faults I recognize in myself.  I tend to lack focus – to start something and have difficulty completing it.  I can be lazy, and pretty laid back, which can be good sometimes, (the laid back part!) but isn’t tremendously useful when it comes to getting the house unpacked!  Katie  is also extremely friendly and outgoing.  She tends to have a pretty sunny outlook on life.  She likes everyone but her sister, it seems.  And the feeling is pretty much mutual.  They are going to see the Warped Tour on Long Island in a couple of weeks.  My sister-in-law bought their tickets, and will be responsible for making sure they don’t kill each other over the weekend.  Sorry Susy! 

My friend whose’ children are mostly grown assures me this stage won’t last.  I look forward to it being over……………