lesson 16: sour sixteen

"Ah, more bitterness and woe."

"I'm not bitter."

"Whatever you say. OK. So tell me about your traumatic sixteen."

"No, not traumatic, just disappointing. There is all this hype around turning sixteen... As if something will suddenly change and you will somehow be transformed into a swan or your life will suddenly be better. It doesn't work that way."

"Wow. You wanted to be a large white bird?"

"Yes. Absolutely."

"No need for sarcasm."

"I beg to differ. Anyway, in my high school there was a lot of the girls had sweet sixteen parties and there was sort of a buzz around this seemingly pivotal year of your life. But since my parents hadn't grown up in a culture where there was any significance around that magic number, they didn't get it."

"Poor you. Oh poor Ingrid."

"Remember what I said about deleting?"

"I was being sincere, honestly."

"And you couldn't possibly relate since you are only a couple of weeks old."

"True. I'm just looking to survive this series."

"Good plan. So about sixteen, basically nothing happened. Just the usual gifts of socks, underwear and books."

"Books are good."

"Book are good. But I still felt disappointed. I woke up the next morning and was exactly the same as I had been. Nothing had changed but a number."

"Sweet forty, darling. There's a lesson here you know."

"You're right. Thanks."