There's a Ghost in the House

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I was home at 6 pm one day and found it empty. Everyone was still at their respective schools. I entered the front door and quietly closed it behind me. Then I thought something or someone moved upstairs--the wooden floor creaked like someone was walking on it. Was Jonats already home? Or Jas? Carefully I called out. Nothing. An intruder?

I remembered reserving a big slice of chocolate mousse in the fridge and a glass of vanilla ice cream in the freezer. I didn't eat my share last night so I could have it today after a hectic, tiring day out. But when I opened the fridge--lo and behold--nothing there but the empty glass and plate the ice cream and cake had been on.

Somebody messed with my desserts. Turn loneliness to laughter. Click here.

Later, when everyone was in, I asked them who took my desserts. No one pleaded guilty. They all claimed absolute innocence--and with matching guiltless faces. Odd. Then what happened to my cake and ice cream? Disappeared in thin air? Beamed up by extra-terrestrials? Eaten by the fridge? Stolen by the syndicate of rats I sometimes see around? Or was it an intruder? Suddenly, I had a funny feeling about it. I was feeling nervous. Scared, actually.

A ghost? Seriously? Eating ice cream and mousse?

Actually, I and my wife have been noticing some weird happenings at home lately. Some things and gadgets suddenly missing, eerie noises, strange soft chuckles somewhere upstairs, used glasses and plates left on the dining table without anyone using them, electric fans left running, empty water pitchers and bottles left on the sink unrefilled, faucets left open with copious water gushing out from them, whole bath soaps soaked in the toilet bowl, toothpaste left on the toilet flush water closet, my clean socks gone from my cabinet and later mysteriously found soiled and smelly in some corner of the garage.

And none of our sons admitted ever using or even "touching" them. "I wonder," I told them once in the tone Sherlock Holmes might use when investigating, "how my shirt ended up in the dirty basket without me using it. I mean, I just washed them yesterday." Then I looked at my sons. They quickly shook their heads in outright denial and simultaneously said, "Not me."

No question about it, then. A paranormal activity in the house. Probably a poltergeist or something. It probably explains the strange sounds I hear upstairs when I'm alone. Or the doors swinging open even without any wind blowing. Or why my razor or rubber shoes suddenly disappear. Yup, there must be a ghost in the house somewhere.

One happy family evening, when we were gathered round the dinner table, I jokingly mentioned about the table often being left unkempt and greasy and the glasses and plates left unwashed. "Yeah, you wash them when it's your turn," I pointed out, "but you don't do it immediately after dinner. You leave it lying like that for hours before you wash them. That's not good habit, boys."

"I never do that, dad!" my youngest immediately replied. "I always immediately wash them on my watch!" My eldest also defended himself.

So I looked at my wife. "Then it must be the ghost again!" I blurted out. My wife laughed knowingly. "Yeah, that ghost is getting a bit too much!" she second the motion. Our boys tried to look innocent but you could see how they knew what we're getting at.

I know when our boys are telling a lie or when they just assume things wrongly and later realize how they've been in error all along. Boys and girls growing up and needing to learn a lot more things about life assume they're doing things right until you correct them--and you have to do so gently. I often do it jestingly to keep a positive atmosphere at home--which is important if you want your millennials to listen to you (and respect you).

But sometimes I make them see their wrong with a measure of anger when it's something serious. They don't like it when I'm angry--though they very seldom see me that way. And when I get angry, I don't get angry all day. The bible tells me so. Remember, familiarity breeds contempt. If they always see you angry and become used to it, you'd become ineffective. And you wouldn't like that.

Does the "ghost" in the house still make a mess? Well, yes, but often with reservations. They learn a lot, to be sure, but as adolescents they will remain adolescents. Millennials will remain millennials until it's God's time for them to grow up a bit more and become wiser. You have to learn to work with God, and this often requires patience. And the waiting works for both your kids and you. Trust me.