July, 2021

The girls leave for Austria in a few days, and we are having dinner. Out of nowhere – we may have been talking about Niki & Britta’s cleanliness and tidiness – Niki says that Britta will have to come by Niki’s dorm room once a week to clean it (insinuating that Britta is the cleaner of the two).

I was taken aback! I looked at Britta for a reaction, but saw none.

My distraction was due to this being the first time that either Niki or Britta mentioned life after…Niki or Britta. I had previously pondered how college might work, and could easily imagine that they insist (to themselves, to us, to potential colleges) that they are a team sport and you can only take one if you agree to take the other.

The next day after Niki’s comment I asked Britta what she thought about it, and she just shrugged. It seemed like she was more distracted by the thought of cleaning up after Niki, versus living separate from Niki.

I guess it’s a good thing that they (at first blush) are OK with separation – makes what will almost certainly have to happen eventually more manageable. Still, how it was articulated was so…ordinary. “No big deal, Papa”.