Is Anybody Listening?

The seven year old is sassy. I am told this is the teenage 'snapshot.'
Allegedly, my sweet girl will return to me soon and stay for a few more years before the hormones steal her from me.
(Boarding school comes to mind.)

In the meantime I am enjoying phrases like,

"You're not the boss of me!"

"I can do it if I want."

and

"I don't care."

All gems.

She is also, it seems to me, going to great lengths to do the exact opposite of my requests.
The every day stuff, like getting ready for bed or to go out, takes forever.
I have to tell her each step at least three times. It's infuriating.

My current pet peeve is clothes or towels abandoned in the bed or bathroom.
Every morning her pj's are abandoned.
At night it's her clothes.

Last night I blew a gasket.
I asked her to get ready for bed and jump in with her book choice while I put the two year old down.
I walked into her room and found her towel and clothes strewn.
She was hiding under her quilt.

I ranted. I threatened consquences. I moaned about my work load and being unfair to me.
Finally - I yelled,

"Get out from under there and show me some respect!"

She didn't.

I thought I might pop a vein - I grabbed the quilt and pulled it back.
You guessed it - she wasn't there.
While I was with the two year old - the husband had come home from work and she was downstairs chatting with him.

I have had many moments where I have questioned my sanity, since I became a parent.
Ranting at a quilt is definitely up there.