That seems to be the body language Bernice is showing in this picture - and what exactly was happening when I took this pose? Okay, not a pose... just a shot, I don't think she'd pose at all with the way she was feeling when this shot was taken. But to answer the hanging question - we were about to have lunch... that is, Barbie, Bernice and I, and aside from the rudimentary answers to what she wanted to eat and all that, she was simply physically present, but it was obvious that her mind was elsewhere.
I guess the same could be said of me when I was a teen. My cousins would invite me to outings, and observe that I was actually miles away, even when with them. Its not that I did not appreciate their company - rather it was because I had other things I wished I was doing.
That said, I can't begrudge Bernice her moments, and even when I sometimes agree with Barbie regarding how frustrating it is to have some conversations with Bernice (and Bryce for that matter) these days, I will only make it ultimately worse if I force the issue of conversation, when she obviously is not in any mood. Nope... the best thing to do here is give her some space - leave her to her thoughts, and hope that when she's ready, she'll willingly talk. Such is the role of parents to teens - that and making sure they have been raised with the right values to serve as their moral compass. I do hope Barbie and I pass the test in both.
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