Parents Just Dont Understand

I sit…in the midst of misunderstanding and tyrannous parenting. It began with a demand for a chore to be done but grew into a sad cry for empathy. My mother stands at the top of the stairs, hair wild-- acting as a foreground to the dim lighting of the chandelier, as she repetitiously hitsmy younger cousin because he has yet to execute his expectations. He asks her calmly to refrain from hitting her as he slowly, yet with much confidence, walks down the flight of stairs that are covered in a supposedly pink carpet that has been turned into a dingy orange after years of abuse. As he places his left demonia boot on the last step, he is taken aback by the red and white water bottle that as just invaded his space and dignity. As he looks up to express his disgust for her immaturity, he is shocked to see two white tennis shoes and a green water bottle flying towards him. The imagery was synonymous to a caveman that has just disrupted a nocturnal flock of bats’ sleep in his quest for food. The only difference is this contemporary caveman is only in search of peace. As I hear this madness, I jump up frantically to guide my cousin into the kitchen that lay underneath the foot of my mother. Now in a quest for peace and safety, he is withholding himself from disrespecting and disrupting her madness while seeking a medium to calibrate his feeling of lonesome. I attempt to invest some words of encouragement in him until I was belligerently interrupted with the words “Stay out of this!”

“No! You’re wrong”

“I’m grown! Stay out of this or you can walk out that door!”

Silenced by the overused ultimatum, I found it quizzaciuously ironic that the same letters used to inflict superiority could be rearranged to exploit fault. This has just showed me that age and experience does not equate to prudence or intelligence. The situation did not have to be exacerbated to its level if both parties took the time to understand each other and seek out a win on both behalves. My mother felt that it was nothing more than quintessential lethargy for my cousin to be home all day and neglect to perform his chores. My cousin felt that my mother was insatiable to the quality of his work so being proactive was just double work if he usually has to redo them when she gets home. Maybe if these two would have expressed and understood opposite logics, that they would have enjoyed a win-win situation. My cousin would have found out exactly what my mother wants to be effectively proactive; my mother would have enjoyed the loyalty of my cousin’s obedience along with saving her the headache that comes with her frequent hysterics. However this is an impalpable imagery, because the two are intransigent in their ways.

On my behalf, I plead that “It must be a sign of maturity when you can exploit fault in your parent’s parenting.” Too bad, she thinks I “think I’m grown and know’ everything.” [Sigh]…frustration comes from frequent conversation but appreciation comes from scarcity. When will I ever get through to her though?