Not exactly stellar

Today started out with a less than stellar parenting moment. Right off the bat, I'll admit that I am so NOT a morning person. I shouldn't even attempt to discipline before 9am. Here's what happened….

Hope brought a paper to me just before bed last night & asked me to "mark it up." Well, I did. With a red pen, no less. Seriously, it wasn't Hope-level work. So, this morning, I lectured her…too harshly…about the paper, the effort, the waiting until the last minute….then I stood over her while she retyped it (did I mention that I was warning her that she'd better not miss the bus?). Off to school she went, likely feeling like her Mom had just mangled her sense of self. To add insult to injury, today was the Algebra placement exam. Lovely. She'll end up in remedial math and it will be all my fault. Can I put a therapist on retainer NOW? Ten years from now, she'll be tearfully explaining that "it all started on that morning when Mom took a red pen to my paper about the Bends."

Perhaps it's cosmic punishment that I've spent the entire day dealing with nerve pain in my leg. Numb toes…then burning toes….then numb again. I got up from the table tonight & kicked the chair b/c I couldn't feel my foot. There isn't a day that goes by the I don't think about the accident – usually it's just a passing moment – but today it was a very physical reminder.

One accomplishment to be proud of today – I finished my entry for Carol's circle journal. It's bright & happy (albeit not a great scan). Wanna see?….