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All In A Mom-day's Work by Lucie Bouchard Antoniazzi Mom and the Seven Dwarfs My daughter, Vanessa, will be thirteen next April. Under the influence of raging teenage hormones, she has developed multiple personalities. Each personality lies dormant within her and can surface at any given time depending on the available stimuli. 1. Happy Happy is always around in the presence of friends. Whether Vanessa is on the phone or MSN, chatting, or seeing her friends in person, she is laughing, giggling, and generally having a good time. Happy is also around when Vanessa is doing something she loves like playing a video game, playing the piano, or listening to music. Beware, however, if a family member comes into visual or audio range. Happy hides in the shadows while Grumpy takes over. Grumpy seems to be the dominant of Vanessa’s multiple personalities. It can manifest itself at any time without a moment’s notice. Vanessa can be singing along to a song and dancing her heart out one minute and yelling at her brother to “Get out! Get out now!” the next. She can be playing her favorite game, quiet and content, and if I have the gall to invite her to join us for dinner, and repeat if I get no response, I get blasted with a “Yeah! I’m coming! I heard you the first time!” Of course, this brings out my Grumpy, who quickly sets her Grumpy in its place! Lately, Grumpy is strongest in the early morning hours on weekdays when Sleepy is roused out of dreamland at 6:00 to get ready for school. 3. Sleepy Like all kids her age, Vanessa feels the need to move her bedtime as far out as possible. She refuses to understand that her internal clock will rouse her out of slumber no later than 7:00 no matter how late she goes to bed – she has always been an early riser. On weekdays, although we have set her bedtime to 9:30, she often takes her sweet time with her shower and only gets to bed around 10:00. Since she has to get up at 6:00 to go to school, this gets her eight hours of sleep, assuming she falls asleep right away - not usually the case. Then on weekends, where she could try to catch up on sleep and get an extra hour in before her own internal clock wakes her, she insists on going to bed an hour later and still only gets eight hours of sleep. Accumulated fatigue gives rise to Sleepy, who in turn makes Grumpy stronger. 4. Sneezy Grumpy shares space with Sneezy in the morning, too, as Vanessa’s allergy symptoms are prevalent then. If I dare remind Sneezy to take antihistamine, Grumpy is right there to defend. “I know, Mom! You tell me every morning to take my medicine!” “But did you take it?” “No…but I was just about to take it!” Yeah, right! If she could just listen to me about the antihistamine, maybe we could get rid of Sneezy altogether! 5. Dopey Dopey surfaces every once in a while during homework. “Mom, I don’t get this math. Can you help me?” “Sure.” I sit down to read the problems and explain how to work them out. If I happen to make sense in my explanation, I’m honored with Happy’s presence for a while. If I’m not making sense, I’m either assaulted by Grumpy’s sharp tongue, or I get to stare into Dopey’s blank expression as I attempt a different explanation. 6. Bashful Vanessa wants to have more independence. She is, after all, almost a teenager. She wants to go to the movies or the video arcade alone with her buddies. She wants to go to the corner store with friends to get snacks. She wants to go to the park…without her brother. This all makes sense! However, Bashful shows up to add conflict to this desire for independence. For example, if Vanessa doesn’t understand a concept in class, Bashful doesn’t allow her to raise her hand and ask the teacher to explain. Bashful whispers, “Don’t raise your hand! Everyone will think you’re Dopey!” Vanessa, armed with her friends, can go to the store to buy candy, but if I ask her to run over to the bakery to get some fresh bread for supper, Bashful gets her so nervous that she grabs the bread and runs, almost leaving her change for a twenty in the cashier’s hand. As maturity sets in and Vanessa becomes more confident, Bashful will surely be pushed away, but the process is slow. 7. Doc?? Since Vanessa’s multiple personalities seem to map perfectly with the names of six of Snow-White’s seven dwarfs, I keep looking for evidence of Doc in Vanessa. Doc is a bossy sort of guy, and Vanessa can certainly be bossy and condescending with her siblings, especially her little brother. Doc is also a leader. I can see that in her, too. She has never been a follower. She doesn’t let fashion trends dictate what she wears. She doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do. She does her own thing, and if anyone wants to follow, that’s great. She is also showing an interest in science this year. She did this fabulous project on stomach cancer. She’d done such a thorough job in her research that the teacher awarded her a perfect score. Hmmm…maybe she’ll be a doctor some day. Maybe Doc is one of her multiple personalities.
Lucie Bouchard Antoniazzi works from home as a freelance writer, editor, and web designer while also pursuing a part-time career in engineering. She lives with her husband Rudy, and their three children, Sabrina, Vanessa, and Nicholas, in Laval, Quebec, Canada.
Find out more about Lucie and her work by visiting her web site at www.luciebouchardantoniazzi.com.
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