I woke up this morning to the sound of Corin and Matt having a big fight: the sort that JK Rowling would call “a blazing row.” Apparently, Corin wanted to help Matt make Saturday pancakes, and when Lily showed interest and was allowed to help, too, Corin couldn’t handle it. In the end, Corin dropped the H-bomb: he said “I hate you.”
Using the H-word for the first time is the childhood equivalent of the F-bomb for adolescents. It’s a dramatic, last resort, end-of-the-argument, shock-value sort of move when your anger is out of control and you want to inflict maximum verbal damage. I’m not at all surprised that it came out today. It is day 7 of the kids being stuck at home, and tempers were bound to run high eventually.
I listened to The Martian on audiobook while commuting in January and February—not knowing, of course, that we’d all feel stuck on isolated planets soon. At one point in the story, the stranded astronaut recalls a part of his training where the six-person crew had to simulate being stuck in their launch capsule for multiple day. He says that even though the crew was a strong team that grew even stronger from the experience, they all hated each other for a while after that particular simulation. Our house is pretty spacious, but still: we’re seeing a lot more of each other and of the same limited surroundings than usual. It’s going to get old.
You will be happy to know that Corin was able to resolve his feelings fairly quickly. By the time breakfast was on the table, everyone could eat pancakes with maple syrup, whipped cream, and no side of hate. But I’m sure that this morning won’t be the last time someone loses it. Maybe we should hang up a sign like a factory: ___ days since last H-word.
Using the H-word for the first time is the childhood equivalent of the F-bomb for adolescents. It’s a dramatic, last resort, end-of-the-argument, shock-value sort of move when your anger is out of control and you want to inflict maximum verbal damage. I’m not at all surprised that it came out today. It is day 7 of the kids being stuck at home, and tempers were bound to run high eventually.
I listened to The Martian on audiobook while commuting in January and February—not knowing, of course, that we’d all feel stuck on isolated planets soon. At one point in the story, the stranded astronaut recalls a part of his training where the six-person crew had to simulate being stuck in their launch capsule for multiple day. He says that even though the crew was a strong team that grew even stronger from the experience, they all hated each other for a while after that particular simulation. Our house is pretty spacious, but still: we’re seeing a lot more of each other and of the same limited surroundings than usual. It’s going to get old.
You will be happy to know that Corin was able to resolve his feelings fairly quickly. By the time breakfast was on the table, everyone could eat pancakes with maple syrup, whipped cream, and no side of hate. But I’m sure that this morning won’t be the last time someone loses it. Maybe we should hang up a sign like a factory: ___ days since last H-word.
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