Greenland has recently decided to proceed from 'Home Rule' to 'Self Rule' in relation to Denmark. The impression is that Greenland is now one step closer to formal independence. Even so, a widespread agreement can be found in Greenland that the country still needs help and support from abroad. In Denmark, the 'Community of the Realm' – which the relation between Denmark and Greenland is commonly known as – is metaphorically described as a relation between parents and a teenager growing up. On the basis of discourse analyses of Greenlandic and Danish debates the article suggests a series of scenarios for the future interplay between Greenlandic and Danish imaginations of the community. The most likely scenario seems to be a collision between Danish impatience with Greenlandic 'irresponsibility' and Greenlandic impatience with Danish 'paternalism'. The greatest chance for the community to survive is – paradoxically – if it is emptied of substance.