
Four letters that spell trouble - KIDS.
Keep you on your toes all day - worrying, fussing, yelling, begging, and when you're not looking, the little thieves steal your heart.
I tasted it first-hand not too long ago during my trip to Melbourne to visit my sister, my niece and nephew.
Disagreeable at first, I was greeted by a very grouchy four-year-old girl the minute I touched down.
Shy and quiet initially, her six-year-old brother was a tad friendlier, offering a soft “hello”, after more than a year of not seeing me.
As the hours passed, frowns turned to smiles, and the shy one was not at all shy in demanding, “Open your luggage quick!! Where’s my present?!?”
Running amok in their two-storey home, my mum was reduced to a bundle of nerves just trying to keep up with them.
Eating time was a challenge, as the slightest trigger would send the two into one of two modes:
Allies against adults. Or,
Maniacs against each other.
It was impossible to get them to finish a meal in less than the time taken for another living species to become endangered.
Riled up over the slightest harsh word, you would become public enemy number one, if you tried to get them back to the dinner table.
And only a very brave man would attempt to feed them anything remotely healthy, and risk unleashing hellboy-or-girl.
Chicken wings dripping with oil that will guarantee you a meeting with your cardiologist, now that’s the way to go. (Just kidding, Sis. Your sushi and chicken wings were a treat!)
Love them, cos it’s impossible to loathe them, it was a blast hanging with the two monkeys during my one-week stay.
Expecting to see them soon, cos I miss those two tantrum-throwing, screaming, grouchy, smiling, silly miracles already!