"How's your knee? Timmy didn't make you hurt yourself again, did he?" I asked Tyson.

"No, thank goodness. Thank you, darling." He gave me a kiss on my cheek when I sat his bowl of oatmeal down in front of him.

"You are welcome. Don't you throw your spoon down on the ground, Tyson Smith, Jr.!"

T.J. was about to have a temper tantrum over his oatmeal until Tyson spoke to him, making him give his father his undivided attention asap.

"Don't. You. Throw. Your. Spoon."

T.J. immediately put his spoon into his food and started eating it without any hesitation whatsoever throughout the duration of breakfast. There were times he listened to me but whenever Tyson would warn T.J. about acting up, there would be no issue from him for the rest of the day.

Me and Tyson weren't strict disciplinarians but we weren't going to let T.J. throw temper tantrums in the store or in public, let him run around the house and knock anything and everything over, and we for sure weren't going to let him run around in general or pout if he didn't get his way. But my parents were a different story. And before I knew it, I found myself in the middle of an argument between them and Tyson.

I had been in the kitchen making a pitcher of lemonade when I overheard Tyson becoming agitated and irritated with my parents about being told how to raise our children. Tyson never disrespected my parents but he had a way of getting his point across without cussing you out or anything of that nature. My parents, being the grandparents that they are, insisted that Tyson was being too hard on T.J. and needed to let up on him so he could be a kid but Tyson didn't want to hear that at all because T.J. was going to listen to his parents.

"Tyson, you're being too hard on your son. Are you going to behave this way with Tia or are you going to spoil her and possibly let her get away with everything?" my mother asked.

"What in the world…" I muttered to myself. "Ah, drat..."

Once I saw T.J. walking into the kitchen visibly upset over what he was hearing, I stopped stirring the lemonade, picked him up and stepped out of the kitchen to see what all of the commotion was about and saw Tyson standing in front of my parents who were seated on the couch with his hands on his hips. Whenever his hands were on his hips, I knew that that meant he was beyond pissed off which meant…bad damn news.

"I understand that you love your grandchildren, but I'm still their father and they're not going to misbehave. Yes, I get it, they're children and they're going to act up and there's been times where I have let T.J. throw a temper tantrum here and there and tire himself out but it's rare. I'm simply telling him to not misbehave but you guys are acting as if I'm hurting the boy."

"Tyson, listen, I understand you're the children's father but you still should lighten up a bit," my father said.

"Why is it whenever I discipline my children you guys always intervene and make me out to be the bad guy here? This is something I truly do not understand whatsoever!"

"Tyson, you're being too hard on the kids," my mother said.

"I'm not being too hard on my children…Tia, please. Help. Me."

So now here I was in the middle between my husband and my parents. Now, I have two options: defend my husband, my parents, or remain neutral. My husband would want me to take his side while my parents would want me to take their side but I had to side with my husband on this issue.

"Listen, mom, dad, Tyson is making some valid points and I'm agreeing with him because we have to raise our children the way we think is best. You guys can spoil the children but don't let them get away with everything."

"Tia, are you really taking Tyson's side in this matter?" my dad asked me. "He shouldn't be yelling at the kids if they do something wrong."

"He's not yelling at them he just has his own way of warning the kids to not misbehave or do something they're not supposed to. Tyson has a way of being serious but doesn't yell at the children so there's no need for you guys to overreact."

"Tia, it's still wrong," my mom said.

"No disrespect, but I'm not going to listen to this because T.J. and Tyra are our children and we're going to raise them how we wish to," Tyson said.

"Tyson, you're not making my daughter turn against us are you? You're not around here controlling her and everything around here are you?"

Why the hell did my dad say that for?

"No! Why would you say that?"

"It wouldn't be the first time he's been a bad influence on you," my dad said.

"Well, if you feel that way then I don't think you should stay here then," Tyson said softly. "I'm not going to be made out to be a bad guy simply because I'm discipling my children and I won't continue to his conversation anymore."

"Fine," my mom said.

Whenever my parents visited, I enjoyed their company but today was a different because they were getting on my nerves and I couldn't want for them to finally leave our house. I couldn't believe my parents really thought that Tyson was controlling me simply because I agreed with him on how to raise our children. I didn't regret my decision though and I never will because I said what I said and I meant every damn word of it, too. My love was agitated after they left so I challenged him to a game of Street Fighter which cheered him up when he thought he had me in a few rounds but I ended up whooping his ass each and every time. Tyra had woken up from her nap which meant she was hungry and looking for her papa so he could hold her while she drunk her milk from her bottle. T.J. was getting a wee bit jealous at the attention his sister was getting, frowned at Tyson who noticed quickly, and was excited when Tyson told him to sit on his lap so he could teach him how to play the game. I had been sitting on the couch while Tyson and the children sat in front of me on the floor and I started to think about how lucky I was to have my own family, even if my parents thought that me and my husband's parenting skills weren't up to "their standards". I know my parents probably thought that Tyson took me away from them as I was "their precious little girl" and I there was no way I could do "any wrong". I still remember the day that my mom took me to the doctors for a regular checkup and almost fainted on the floor when she heard me say something she wouldn't thought I'd say in years.

Flashback:

"Do you smoke?"

"No."

"Do you drink?"

"No."

"Are you sexually active?"

"…Sometimes."

I could feel the stare my mother gave me but I remained poised as I answered all of the doctor's remaining questions.

"Who are you having sex with?"

I kept my eyes fixated on the scenery outside out the window as my mom drove but kept hassling me about me saying that I've been having sex.

"Tyson."

"TYSON!?"

"Yes."

"So when you were defying us by not returning home, you were at Tyson's house having sex! How many times did you guys have sex, Tia!?"

"This was our second or third time having sex. He used a condom so I'm not pregnant."

"I'm glad you guys used protection but the fact you still went out and had sex with Tyson is still bad! If he gets you pregnant one day and leaves you, then what!?"

"He's not going to get me pregnant and leave me, okay? You're just making stuff up now."

"No, I'm not, Tia! You need to be careful and not be reckless when you get angry sometimes. It doesn't make any sense."

"Well, me and Tyson have been childhood friends for a long time and we happened to start having sex with each other. Are you going to ground me now?"

"No. If you make a mistake, I have to let you learn from it."

"Are you going to tell dad?"

My mother let out a small sigh but shook her head still.

"No, he doesn't need to know and don't you tell him either."

Present:

We had to get the kids to bed early so we could bathe and make ourselves a banana split that we shared together before finally winding down. Tyson laid his head in my lap so I could comb my fingers through his curly locks that smelled like lemon.

"Your parents must still think we're teenagers and I snatched you away from them."

"I know and I'm sorry that they still behave that way, love."

"It's not your fault, Tia. I know damn well I'm not yelling at the kids when I get on them but I'm also going to be stern if they start to throw a temper tantrum and I don't want T.J. going ape shit on you one day when I'm on the road."

"He won't, babe. Speaking of the road, what did your doctor tell you?"

"To give the healing process one more month and I will be back to normal."

"That's good. And guess what?"

"You want another banana split?"

"Please?"

"Give me a kiss first."

"Okay." I gave him a quick peck on the lips then playfully flicked his exposed nipple since he didn't have a shirt on. "Now go and get me a banana split, please!"