The 2 faces of Meryl

She is the sweetest, most docile and compliant girl with a generous heart and gentle touch especially with babies. She is also fiercely independent and self-reliant and tenacious in the way she handles complex situations and physical challenges. She can walk for miles at Bukit Timah Hill and during the numerous nature walks we do without uttering a single complaint despite the blisters forming in her foot, scale the rocky mountain at Mount Kinabalu with an optimistic and never-say-die attitude in face of the slippery steps and steep paths. She does not demand for things to be bought for her, is extremely well-behaved when she goes out on shopping trips with us and is perfectly accommodating when we give her instructions. She sleeps without any struggle when it is her naptime, anywhere. She is adventurous when it comes to food and will try anything at least once. She is able to reason well and even dish out advice for her brother. She is also commendable in that she will stand up for her brother and protect him when the situation calls for it. She is always standing alongside her brother when he gets punished and hugging him and comforting him after he gets his due. She is also lovable in that she is always so obliging. She is usually the 1st to respond to requests for tissue or dustbin or water from my mom, myself or my husband. She will bring tissue for brother and help him wipe his mouth or tears, she will help me carry my plate to the kitchen and fetch the handphone for my mom. At times like these, she is an Angel.

However, there is another side to her. There is a monster that is lurking within her as the hubby puts it and that monster is Anger. And often it is on the spur of the moment, over the most insignificant things, and despite the fact that she knows she is fighting a losing battle, she failed to rein in her anger. We are still trying to figure out if this is her way of getting our attention or is she testing our limits. Her punishments had included 2 months no Explorer Kids at Downtown East, no parties and no opening of birthday presents for a month for her temper tantrums. Once was over her insistence that I bring her on the Ferris wheel at Downtown East, on her birthday she had insisted on sitting on the cooler box and be pulled and then the last one was for wanting to wear plastic high heels slippers to a Christmas party. On those occasions, she will be quietly defiant at first, pulling a long face, refusing to speak until we are about to make a move. Then she will raise her voice and refuse to bulge. Each episode also included her stamping her feet in anger, clenching her fist, calling us 'naughty' and when in close proximity, she will try to inflict pain on the person. Crying is the last thing that she does which will sometimes escalate into screaming. Then when she finally acknowledges her defeat, she will start apologising which is already too late as the punishment would have been meted out. The interesting part, however, is that she will adhere to the punishment without any resistance. At times, she will even remind us when we forgot the punishment. She will also tell us that she needs to take in 3 deep breath when she gets angry and count to 10. Sometimes I wonder, if she subconsciously 'welcome' these punishments so that she is 'equal' to her brother who always gets into more trouble than her.