Day 150 or “The Day An Announcement is Made”

Ask any board-gamer and they will tell you that Monopoly is literally the worst game in existence. I can only hope that Stormy’s current obsession with it is a gateway board-game and I can move her from Monopoly Junior to Settlers of Catan Junior quickly. We play 3 games of Monopoly this morning. I am only allowed to stop long enough to make her Vegemite toast. Even this she eats while playing. I suspect the fact that she can chose Elsa, Anna or Olaf as her token may have something to do with it.

45 minutes later and I’m finally released from my Monopoly duties and can have my shower. It’s school holidays so Stormy is still running around in her underwear pretending to be a cat when I depart for work. She runs up and gives me a big hug as I leave. This leaves me somewhat covered in water — don’t ask. I’ve arranged for a play-date so hopefully she can run off some of the energy by the time I return.

No such luck. I return home and it’s crazier than ever. There’s a point where she takes my glasses off and puts them on the side table that I know it’s going to end badly for me. Unfortunately she overexcites herself and crashes down when dinner is ready. Refusing to eat, she crosses the line between cheeky and naughty and loses TV privileges again. She eventually calms down and accepts the restriction. However this does mean that Monopoly is brought out again after dinner. Hoist by my own petard.

At this point the discussion turns to a significant, and mostly positive, change. Her mother has gotten a new (and permanent) job in Australia. This means two things. First my tenure as a single dad, which was due to expire next week, is extended by another 3 months. And second, at the end of those three months we will move back to Australia to be a complete family again. Stormy is sad and announces that “I will miss my friends, and maybe cry for them because I love them”. My heart breaks at this announcement. But she’s strong and accepts her new reality very quickly. Discussion quickly turns to how the next three months will play out. There are more questions than answers at this time.

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