12 year olds! YUCK!

And people wonder why I don't want kids....well....its more because I'm afraid of kids like my little brother....but this contributes....

I'm very annoyed by my littlest sister at the present time. Those of you that know me well, know I've been concerned for sometime at how she would grow up. She's quite spoiled, and my dad and stepmom provide almost NO discipline (ie - failing science class - is told she's grounded - but still gets to watch tv, use the computer, use the xbox, and have friends over. Oh...and if she pulls her grades up to a C then she gets a cell phone of her very own). My sister has always acted quite differently around me than she does around her mom and dad - because at a VERY early age I taught her that I would not tolerate poor behavior. I'm talking...when the kid was like 2 and she smacked me while I was carrying her through a shopping mall - I set her down on the ground and told her if she would hit she had to walk. And thats the last time the child struck me.

Lately I've been growing more concerned though. My sister is now 12 years old. At one point this year when she was mad at my parents and sister she just didn't come home one night. Her logic was, no one would know she was missing anyway (sadly that was true). But when she did return at 4pm the next day - there wasn't even a big fuss of any type made about it. Then in October she came out to visit me and we spent the weekend ind Philly. My stepmom had given her the cell phone so that we could keep track of her in the airports because she was flying alone (and without airline escort) for the first time. I was apalled at the complete lack of cell phone manners. We'd be in a museum in a theater that specifically said to turn off all light emitting devices....but still she'd open it up to talk or message. I made a comment to my dad about that the same weekend and he didn't really say anything. Then LAST weekend we were in Chicago for the day, and my sister had my stepmom's cell in her pocket. We went to the theater and then to a VERY nice french restaurant for a long dinner. She got up from dinner and dissappeared to the bathroom for a good 10 minutes - and my other sister and stepmom commented that she must be on the cell phone. I said something about the poor cell manners to my stepmom then, who said that unfortunately kids learn how to be mature with things like cell phones by using them, and that as her big sister I should try to teach her proper behavior. Isn't that her parents job?? So then my sister comes BACK from dinner and after a few minutes the cell rings and she answers it right at the table. I'd had enough of it then and told her to close the phone immediately, which she did. But when we discussed later that I wasn't mad at her, but the cell phone at dinner was completely innapropriate she actually said to me "Whatever".

And of course probably the thing that prompted my rant in the first place - her attitude this week. The day we were in Chicago last weekend I'd actually been home a whole week at that point. She asked when I got home, and when she found out I'd been home a week she was upset that she hadn't seen me yet. I reminded her that she'd been in school all week (to which she said "oh yeah") and that we'd have all of THIS week to hang out....because normally when I'm home I spend every day with her when she's not in school. So on Monday when I was leaving to head to spend the remainder of Chistmas Day with my mom, I asked what the plan was for the week. She said she hadn't made any....so I told her to call me when she woke up on Tuesday because I didnt' want to drive out while she was still asleep. Tuesday she calls me at noon and tells me she's too TIRED and I shouldn't come over. I remindered her that she was leaving on Thursday for Wisconsin, and I wouldn't be in Illinois still when she got back. She responded that we'd still have Wednesday to see each other. And then she never called on Wednesday...and now she's gone and I leave to go back to PA on Saturday morning.

I know that any child I have wouldn't be the same, because I would certainly not let them grow up the way my sister has....but this still demonstrates to me that my patience is not improving with age.