Reap The Teenage Whirlwind...

Stanley Steemer apparently overbooked themselves (playing catch-up after one of the techs fell off his deck and put them behind) and so... no clean carpets for me.

Which means I get to do the clean-up all over again whenever they get around to calling me back and rescheduling. Which, in this house, is probably not a bad thing. Especially since the dog shredded several household items since Friday. Ain't life grand?

Our teenage niece (the daughter of T's eldest sister) is spending the week with us.

I had forgotten, somehow, the mix of budding empathy and general scorn for the universe that comes with being 15. Which she is. Today. It's V's birthday. She turns 15 today and will be starting high school in a few weeks.

We are celebrating by heading out to the pool. I figure we can roast the day away in some cool water (slathered in 50 proof sunscreen, of course) and have a picnic before heading back home. V was keen on the idea, and the thought of toting her unsuspecting baby cousins around in the deep waters. Me? I'm just glad I invested in board shorts. The comparisons to a teenage girl will not be in my favor. Which I am totally fine with.... so long as my butt and thighs are firmly covered from human view.

Yesterday, we happened to be driving home after doing some shopping at Target, when I started waxing philosophical on all things adolescence. The exchange that followed gave me a reason to smirk wryly at my ceiling as I fell asleep last night.

"You're at an age where everybody is just trying to figure out who they are and who they're going to be."

"I already know who I am. I don't care what other people think."

"Well, you know who you are right now. You're going to keep evolving, becoming the person you're going to be later on in life. You won't always be the person you are at fifteen, and who you are won't always be dictated so much by who your friends are. You're going to learn a lot in the next few years, especially. High school is rough. Your priorities are really going to change."

"Oh. Whatever. Anyways."

And thus, she firmly cemented that - any attempt to vicariously "know then what I know now" - by passing on the wisdom of a lifetime to this young padawan?

Totally whatever. Anyways.