deadlightsgirl | The PTB need a xanax

I forget why, but today is a Day Of Silence, something to do with teen trauma (don't bother reminding me, I don't care that much). I will observe it during the time Gracie is at school, mostly as an excuse to hide in my bed and not answer the phone. Very tired, very bleeding, very sinusy, very generally yucko. Not just for my sake. Rob reads every day in the news about another guy who offed himself and abandoned his family. I don't know anything about the Florida polo ponies thing and I don't want to (please do NOT enlighten me), but I assume that joust horses will be at a premium for a bit.

At least we survived spring break, with Gracie out of school for like 2 weeks counting the Florida trip. Thank god Rob was home for most of it, though this past weekend it was just me and the kiddo from Thursday morning til early Tuesday morning, and boy was that exhausting. I don't know if it is a product of the break from school or just the age she's at, but she's challenging everything, and as loudly as possible. She has plenty of words and there are a few cases where she'll use them for other than mimicry, but only when she feels like it, so actual communication is still gestures and hollering and frustrating. She's also no better with the hair. Over the weekend I got so nutty with her pulling my hair that I braided it all up and hid it under a big Crimson Pirate bandanna. Boy did that piss her off (she even asked "where's your hair?" a coupla times). The compromise became bandanna on my head but with two braids sticking out from under. That gave her something to play with which is less ouchy, and kept her off my scalp, which is key. I hate having to keep my head covered, but it's better than yanking.

The flip side of that, however, is that when she wants to be, she is cuter than ever (also been in big Mommy-mode lately). I picked her up at school the other day and her face when she saw me come into the classroom was like the sun coming out. And she laughed and clapped and said "it's Mama!" a bunch of times. I of course got all sniffly. She generally greets me with that if she and Rob get up before I do, or if it is shot day or something and I venture downstairs...then the Gracie Tractor Beam kicks in and I have to go snuggle her for a bit before going back to bed.

The most adorable thing ever -- between Rob's tour and shot day and the fact that the days he is home are the days I get to escape and do things, Gracie occasionally gets very excited to have both Mama and Daddy in the same room at the same time. The other day we were all in the bathroom and she pushed Rob and me so we were hugging each other, which we did, and then she romped and danced around us in a circle for a few minutes before joining in the family hugging.