Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Sorry I'm Not a Duck
If you know me, you probably know I don't get along with my dad very well. It's not like we're at each other's throats constantly (at least not constantly), but considering how close I am to my mom, our relationship looks like shit in comparison. I will never be "daddy's little girl", no matter how much he wants me to be. We just don't mesh that well.
The main problem, I think I've found, is that he won't be straightforward. I can't stand people who aren't straightforward. Word play is fun and all, but it doesn't get anything done. Here's the example from this evening.
Dishes are the big conflict-filled chore in the house. I empty the dishwasher, my dad fills it, and my mom cooks. I'm supposed to do my bit as soon as possible so my dad doesn't have to wait to do his, and hold up the whole process. But of course, being me, I never remember to do it without being reminded.
The problem is, my dad's method of reminding me involves sentences like, "Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean? Then I guess they should be removed. [long silence as I pretend I didn't hear] HINT HINT." Sure, it would make things easier if I just sprang up whenever he mentioned the word "dishes", but I am a human being and believe that, though i live off of my parents, I am a legitimate part of the family and should be treated with a minimum of respect, despite my shortcomings.
So this evening when he pulled that I decided to tell him how I felt about his method of sidling up to the subject and how it makes me feel like a maid or something, ready to run off at a moment's notice for whatever my master could possibly desire. We argued and got pissed off. I cooled down for a minute and decided to try again, in a non-confrontational manner. I asked my dad if he would mind simply asking or telling me to do my chores straight-out, as I preferred that. He said he didn't give a shit what i preferred, since I was supposed to do them in the first place.

So now I'm pissed off. All I'm doing is asking him to use a handful less words so that I don't have to yell at him every time he starts beating around the dishwasher bush. I don't think I'm asking for much, am I? Am I being too presumptuous in hoping that I might still be treated as a family member even when I don't do what I'm supposed to because I forgot? I don't even care if he orders me to do dishes, anything would be better than what he does now. I want him to treat it as a chore, not something I'm doing for him, because I'm not, because he's a pain in the ass and despite his being my father he really doesn't have a lot of redeeming qualities. He's a mouse of a man, I guess you could say. Whatever, I'm getting out of here in a year anyway, and I won't have to do his damn dishes anymore, however he asks me.
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