Pomp and Circumstance

Today I was giving my daughter a ride to her job about 14 miles away.  She doesn't have her driver's license yet, but will soon.  We were about a mile from the house when she went on a rant about what a bad day she was having. Most of it starting with me not getting her up in time to be on time to her job.  I remarked that it was her job and I thought she would be responsible enough to set an alarm to get up on time. She continued with her comments remarking that instead of me telling her it was time to get up, or what time it was, that I was "conversating" her.

Now she is berating me and polluting the language.  "Conversate is not a word," I said.  "The word is conversation, you have a conversation or you converse you do not conversate. And I did tell you it was time to get up and that you should be moving around because we need to leave in about 20 minutes. We started a conversation the second time I went to your room to make sure you were up."

" I hate hearing your voice," she retorted, "I wish you would not even talk to me."

I had had enough of her disrespect for me, for her family, for her friends, for the language so I went on my own rant.  "You should probably not even be in my car.  That is no way to talk to some one who picked you up from work last night, stopped got supper for you, drove you back down near where I work to visit your friends then finally got home at about 7:00 last night after leaving work before 5:00 pm.  Now I am using my car, my gas and my time to drive you to work this morning!"  I think she might have wiped a tear away from her eye. It was uncharacteristic for me to push back and voice my opinion when she was disrespectful.

Pomp and Circumstance started playing on the radio and neither of us spoke all the way to her job. She got out of the car, slammed the door, marched into work.  Pomp and Circumstance ended just as she entered the building. It seemed appropriate. I think I just graduated from dealing with her sass and attitude.  I will let her figure out how to be a grown up, wake up on time and get herself to work.