All I want is a Dry Towel!

First I would like to show you this wonderful picture of my teenagers. Don't they look mature and sophisticated?

Would you believe that, as much as I love the picture and know I am going to cherish having it as the years go by, it lies. These are teenagers that irritate and annoy. These are teenagers who have hormones and brain cells flinging all over the place.

The boy teenager is starting to want to be out to all hours. He plans his day with little or no thought about the schedule of the family that lives with him. He has Lo-o-o-ng showers every morning using at least 3 towels to dry off.

The girl teenager has started dating. (gulp) She spends many days avoiding me or grunting at me and then thinks I should sit and listen gleefully when she is happy that she was asked out for a date. (I listened and I was).

I have started following her out of the room when she turns around and walks away from me while I am talking. Maybe she will realize that it is just easier to stay and listen once instead of having me follow her around the house.

And now!!! For the latest in exasperation she hoards all the towels that the teenage boy has not used in her room (which by the way is wall to wall laundry).

Ah yes, this Mother cannot just grab a dry bath towel when I want to have a relaxing bath because:

1. there are 4 wet bath towels in the bathroom

2. no bath towels in the linen closet

3. there are 6 (yes 6) bath towels on the floor of the teenage daughter's room. Some are on the bottom layer, some in the middle layer and 1 on the top layer. AND!!!way back in the corner is the red towel that I have been missing for months now and actually have sent her into her room to look for it.

Jim has learned to deal with the problem of disappearing towels by always hanging his on his hook on his side of the bed. (he allowed me to use it today)

I find it slightly annoying that Patrick uses so many towels. But he does leave them in the bathroom and usually hangs them up. Rhea, on the other hand, hoards the wet towels in her bedroom on the carpet. I find completely and absolutely annoying!

I take on the responsibility to at least once a week remove all the towels etc... from the bathroom to wash them. The towels that Patrick uses get washed regularly. Both children wash their own clothes so I do not go into their rooms to gather laundry.

I can deal with what Patrick does but I can't deal with what Rhea does.

Jim altered his ways to get around it. I feel that Rhea should be expected to change her ways to accommodate the workings of the family. Either hang up her towels in the bathroom so they can get washed and dried and put away, or, choose one towel that is her towel and treat it as she wants.

Is it too much to ask? One dry towel?

I have asked the father to talk to her because I am quite wired about it. Probably unreasonably so. (PMS I am sure)

The score so far:

Rhea 6

Patrick 4

Jim 1

Martina 0

All I want is a dry towel!