Shenanigans

We are an average suburban Canadian family.

We live in an average suburban Canadian house.

We have the requisite 2.5 kids, one girl, one boy and a dog (2 teenagers and a toddler in our case)

But at a certain time each night things go a little awry........I think they get a little un-average.

9:45pm  Parents generally head upstairs to get ready for bed..... read, chat, catch up on FB etc.

Still average.

10:00pm we begin summoning the children to plug in their phones in our room 

Average-ish

10:05pm

The children are often curled up on the end of our bed sending last snap chats and messages and who-knows-what-else.   Some casual conversation, the odd joke, someone shares a funny You Tube video, we check in about the next day.

 

Average

10:15pm

Parents require devices plugged in and silenced and children to exit to their own rooms (we used to think they went to sleep at this point but we know better).  

Often at this point David stealthily slips out and stands in the doorway of his room.  

Lindsay evermore reluctantly surrendering her phone wishes us goodnight demanding our full attention.....Allan often gives her the Peace sign so she calls him Bono.  "Night Mama, night Bono"

Getting un-average 

She walks out and David "Boo's" her from his doorway.

She screams and clobbers him if she can and says mean things about him.

He continues to yell over her "I love you Lindsay" and tries to hug her....

She screams more "Don't touch me"..... "Mom David touched me"

David is usually laughing so hard at this point.  "Mom, Mom......Lindsay won't hug me"

And somehow they both end up back in our room demanding justice and attention and permission for retribution......while sneaking looks at their phones.

I beg Allan to assert some authority and once he stops laughing he orders them out.

David leaves flicking off the hallway light. 

Lindsay flicks it back on and demands David stand in the hallway where she can see him.  

He does and then lunges to hug her as she passes.

She clobbers him......screaming ensues

NO MORE AVERAGE HERE.

I swear this scenario or some iteration of it plays out twice a week......maybe three times.  Sometimes I am dying of laughter.  Sometimes I am so tired I want to cry after 5 minutes of these sibling shenanigans......sometimes we give up and close the door and hope they survive each other.

This parenting teenagers thing.....not for the faint of heart.  But good for the odd laugh.