Call me Angst

We have a lot more angst in the house now than ever before.

Farah is showing signs of an angsty teenager at age 12+ and has major mood swings that sometimes take me by surprise. Add to that, I have Danial who is getting all angsty now all at the ripe age of 8+.

So, Farah's angst can be attributed to her transition from being a tweeny to a teenager. She wants to do things her way at her own time. We let her, but not always. The husband and I remind her of her chores and homework. Every single day. I told myself, before I had kids, that I would not turn into a naggy mum but I fear I am slipping down that slippery road.

Non-negotiables are her spending time studying and doing her prayers. We have to check on her because there were instances when she hasn't been straight with us. Now she's learnt that honesty is best policy when it comes to us. On most days though, she's been great. The good thing is she's enjoying her secondary school life. She's made new friends - we checked her friends out by inviting them over for lunch every now and then - and is a bit more enthused about studying.

Of late, the *other* angsty kid in the house is Danial. He is peeved that he wasn't selected for the track and field team and so won't be running at the upcoming school sports day. He said he came in first during the trials but was not selected. I can't explain the rationale to him and the husband is fuming mad and even wanted to write to the school.

Let me take a step back and clarify that my son's interest in sport is not my doing. Oh, you knew that already? The husband is inculcating the love of sport in the kids, so much so that they actually look forward to going for a jog with him and kicking the ball around at the nearby open field. Ok, so those are good things. But the by-product of sport is competitiveness. Not that it is a bad thing, if it comes in small, manageable doses. I'm digressing so let's go back to the story here.

So now Danial is even more infuriated when he's been selected as a cheerleader instead to which he said thanks but no thanks to the teacher.

On the husband's part, he is still coaching Danial to sprint and harbours a secret ambition that he (Danial, not the husband) will be Singapore's greatest rugby player. Although, ahem, Singapore has not really qualified, let alone won any worth-mentioning rugby tournaments. Ever. But I don't want to burst that bubble of his since the husband was one of the best rugby players that came out of Singapore.

The other two girls are also enjoying going out for a run and catching ball with the rest of them. The love of sport is slowly but surely blossoming in our family. I have no choice but to join in; it's no fun being home alone when everyone's out there.