A Mommy Story

I’m having one of those days. It’s Monday, it’s hot, my period started and is giving me hell, I’m bloated, and I’m generally in a grumpy, glum mood. On the plus side, at least I’ll have my period done with before Blogher. But for today, I have lots of little things to talk about, but nothing cohesive, so it’s a day for bullets.

• Apparently technology and I are not getting along today. When I arrived at work, I tried to log on to one of the programs I need, and it won’t work. Then I tried to print a student’s schedule, and the printer isn’t working. Both appear to be working just fine, but they won’t work for me. I thought it was a weird coincidence until I tried to get a soda from the vending machine, and the machine wouldn’t give me a soda, despite looking like nothing was wrong with it.

• Cordy has reached a new milestone: basic manipulation. Now, whenever she does something that hurts me – kicks me, bites me, hits me, etc. – before I can even fully utter the phrase “No, we don’t [hit, kick, etc.]!” she hugs me and says in her most loving, gentle voice, “Baeey-aah.” (Her word for hug. I have no idea where she got that word.) How is that for emotional manipulation? Child, you can’t hit me and then hug me right away and expect it to all be forgiven. Especially when you do it all again as soon as you finish the hug.

• We watched the space shuttle land this morning online, since none of the news channels were willing to break away from Israel to cover it. Being way too emotional thanks to my period, I had tears in my eyes when I saw it break through the clouds. When I was younger I wanted to be an astronaut – I even went to Space Camp in 7th grade. So I was overjoyed to see a successful landing. I pointed to the shuttle on the screen and said, “See, Cordy? That’s a space shuttle. It takes people into space, closer to the stars.” Cordy looked at it with a smile, and then pointed and said, “shut-tle!” I was so proud of her for saying that. I’m already wondering if they make flight-suits in her size.

• I’ve officially been off my antidepressants since mid-June, and I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. It’s nice to be off the drugs, but I’m constantly wondering if I really am OK. I recently developed a back problem that bothers me off and on. It’s not painful, but it feels like restless leg syndrome, but only on the left side of my upper back. When it’s affecting me, if I’m not moving my left shoulder, it tingles and there’s an overwhelming urge to move. I can’t even work myself into a panic thanks to WebMD, since this seems to be a rare symptom. I’m wondering if I have pinched a nerve, or if this could be some rare disorder as a result of going off my antidepressants? Never mind, it looks like I did manage to work myself into a worry, even without the help of WebMD.

Anyone else having a bad day today?

Tomorrow I will have the winner of my book giveaway!