I wasn’t sure how to begin this blog post…you see, I have a 14 year old (a daughter-by-marriage) who resides in my home. She used to be a beautiful, polite, funny little girl who grew into a lovely young lady. But since she’s turned 13 1/2 she’s been abducted and an Alien has taken over.
I’ve been told this is “normal” behaviour for teens, especially teen girls. I know I was a teenager in the dark ages, but I don’t remember being disrespectful. I’m quite sure I tried it, but only once. I still feel the smack I received for showing that disrespect.
She was raised in the Church, this Alien with whom I reside.
Her mother and father separated for keeps when she was just over a year old. Her dad and I got together when she was 6 1/2. Every other Sunday she came to Church and for the most part, she enjoyed it. When she was 10 she was baptised in the Church, after two years of preparation. I wanted her to be sure she was ready and not feeling coerced by her dad, her grandparents, or me. She said she was sure.
She became a server and acolyte when she was 12 and loved it. Then at 13 she started losing interest in all but her iPod and laptop. Church was boring and she’d rather sleep in on Sunday mornings. She started shirking her responsibilities when she was rostered. So we had a chat and she decided she no longer wanted to be in service. And that was okay.
She stopped going to Church, other than on High Holy Days, and that was harder, but it was okay.
Last weekend she had a sleepover with her dad’s parents, her Oma and Opa. And when Oma invited her to come to Church for a baptism she said, snottily “I don’t DO Church anymore, like, I’m an ATHEIST, and like, we don’t DO Church.” then tossed her head and flounced off. She used to LOVE baptisms.
Remember I said she was 14? She’s REALLY good at it.
Tonight I heard her chatting with her “friends” online and every other phrase was “like, OH MY GAWD”. I asked her not to say that. She looked at my blankly. I said “If you’re an Atheist, you don’t believe in God. Therefore you don’t HAVE a God. Thus, you cannot say Oh MY God.”
I’m sure you could hear her eye roll from across the village where we live. She was not amused. And neither am I.
I have friends who are Atheists. And they’re lovely, caring people.
I fear the Alien is not an Atheist, she’s simply an Asshole. And there’s a big damn difference. Don’t get me wrong, there are Christians who are assholes. There’s Atheists who are assholes. But being an asshole, doesn’t make you an Atheist. Being an asshole makes you an asshole.
Make sense? Calling yourself an Atheist doesn’t mean you can treat everyone around you like an asshole.
I know she’s at an age where she is pushing against all she was raised with, so she can find her own way; her own identity. And I get that.
I suspect she’s an Atheist because her friends are and it’s the “cool” thing to be. She also wants to be counter-cultural. In this day and age being a Christian is being counter-cultural; and of course, I did NOT say this to her.
We used to talk for hours about all kinds of things. Now it’s glottal stops and eye rolls. I asked her the other day if she needed a drink of water as she kept clearing her throat. She looked blankly at me and I asked her if she had a hairball. She made that sound again, tossed her hair and walked away. It was definitely a walk and not a flounce. I checked.
I’ve been told the real girl may re-emerge when she turns 20. I don’t know I can wait that long.
But in the mean time, I’m going to go hang out with some Atheists. They’re lovely. And generally converse with actual words, not glottal stops and eye rolls. I like that.
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