I Lament

This family is on the verge of exploding. We're talking major meltdown here in my house. I have two teenage girls trying to find their place in their world and the seven year old with an attitude from hell. Toss in their mother who really doesn't want to do anything but sit in front of the tv, the computer, or bury herself in her books and we have one hell of a potentially explosive situation which will make the Chernobyl disaster look like a backyard barbeque mishap. I'm fucking losing my mind here in my own house! No peace and quiet, no love; just constant arguing, bitching, shouting, and such. Sure they do the taekwondo thing - when they want , sure Dana goes to choir practice weekly and to her parents house on Sunday with the girls - but they come back with the same poor attitudes. My only deliverance this summer thus far is when my brother's girlfriend, Kaylie, takes them out to the beach or the mall or the track.
A lot of it has to do with these girls not getting along with their mother. It's supposed to be a normal part of the developmental process at this stage but this is ridiculous. My older two girls are at the awkward ages of 14 and 13, not little girls anymore but not quite grown women. Their sister is seven and picking up on how to push mom and dad's buttons by watching her older sisters. The mother, Dana, is stressed out by all this and now it's to the point where it's getting to our sex life. Sex used to be the one pressure relief valve we had between us, but not anymore. We lock the door when we're fucking, but earlier this month Victoria, our oldest, took it upon herself to unlock it with a butter knife as Dana was giving me a blowjob. We told her to get away from the door as we heard her knocking but she opened it all the same. I know my girls are curious and that's the scary part of being a father right now. I pray daily, sometimes twice or more daily.
Maybe if we had a bigger house with each girl having her own room? Maybe if we had money so each of us could burn off in our own separate direction for a little while? I don't know. What I do know is my little two bed one bath house is a fucking pressure cooker with a faulty release valve and the pot is starting to steam. I even look forward to going to work because now that's where I get my only dose of peace and quiet and that's in a state prison!
The positive note about all this is that my oldest girl, Victoria, is taking a little more interest in what her daddy does outside in the garage. I taught her how to ride the riding mower and she cut the grass out by the railroad tracks all by herself with just me watching from the fence. Last sunday, I had to work on her mother's car and change the oil and such on both the car and the truck and she came out and took a fleeting interest in what I was doing and asked a few questions and put two quarts of oil in the truck for me without spilling it all over. That's daddy's little girl!
My middle daughter, Judith, has always been my shy, demure, quiet one. She's more content with computer games and the tv and took no interest in learning how to ride the riding mower or any interest in what daddy's doing out in the garage except for playing with the cat outside. She's taking up after her mother and that's starting to scare me. I'm not pushing the matter but she's my more inward girlie type out of all three of my girls.
My youngest, Stephanie, is hell on wheels with a bad attitude and my only salvation is my brother's girlfriend Kaylie and her six year old daughter, Erin. Now Stephanie has someone closer to her own age to play with and they get along fabulously. Thank God for Kaylie and her little girl, Erin.
Last weekend I took Victoria and Judith with me to visit my grandfather who's in a nursing home in Pasadena. My mother came along also and it was actually a pleasant day out. No drama, no bullshit, everyone behaved and my grandfather got to see my older two girls and they got to see the last of my living elders. Victoria and Judith were actually very sincere in their affections toward their great grandfather and they behaved accordingly. I provided moral support for my mother and drove to and from the nursing home as my mother doesn't like to drive in Houston traffic. When my mother's around all three of my girls behave well or maybe they're afraid she'll string them up by their toes if they misbehave?
My mother has always been the strict disciplinarian, as were her parents when she was growing up, and I see a lot of my parenting style reflecting my mother. When I'm out with my girls without their mother it's usually an OK trip without any drama or bullshit. When I'm with my girls at my brothers or sisters house it's usually a pleasant trip.
Anyway I have to get off this computer and move my ass, it's been a lazy day for me and I havn't accomplished anything today. Next month, July, I'm planning to teach my two older girls how to drive. Let's see how that goes!