Just checking in with y'all to clarify that my daughter is miserable and it's all my fault.  At least, that's what I'm getting from her latest tirade.

It's my fault that my daughter has a cold.

It's my fault that she has her period right now.

It's my fault that she's large-chested and complains that her back hurts because of it.

It's my fault that she's a GIRL, and that she exists!

EVERYTHING is my fault.

I probably should backtrack, right? 😉 

I've been sick since last Friday.  Last Thursday, I had part one of two dental procedures, appointments were a week away.  It went okay - but involved numbing.  I went home and could not feel half of my face for several hours afterwards.  (There IS a funny story about that - a friend texted me shortly after I arrived home, as we text daily...she'd forgotten that I had a dental appointment earlier that morning and was ready to tell me to call 911 when I told her I couldn't feel the entire right side of my face - she thought I'd had a stroke.)  After a laugh and a reassurance, and several hours later, I felt closer to normal.  Until Friday night.  I felt my throat becoming scratchy and overall uncomfortable. I went to bed, hoping it was just something that would be gone the next day.

Sadly, I woke up stuffy and sniffly on Saturday morning.  Kept my distance from the son, daughter and the wife-to-be.  Spent most of the day isolated in my woman-cave downstairs...I have my computer, a TV, a space heater (it got cold again, damnit) and a couch, complete with blankets.  I have my ambient lighting (a little light-up wax melt lamp that the kids got me for my birthday a couple years ago) and it's overall pretty comfortable down there.  

I wasn't comfortable at all over the weekend, though.  I was cranky, miserable, and just kept myself busy catching up on my network shows and watching baseball.  It was a slow weekend, anyhow.  Kids went back to their Dad's on Saturday.  Sunday was a repeat of Saturday...more sniffling, sneezing, nose honking and doses of DayQuil and NyQuil...

On Monday, the daughter texted me from school. 

"I'm mad at you, Mom."

Okay.....I know my kid can be a little bit extreme sometimes, so I texted back, "What'd I do, now?"

"I got my period and it's all over my underwear!  Why'd you have to give me YOUR periods?"  (Gross and a bit of TMI, but she sends me a picture of her underwear.)  Then, "I feel gross.  Can you pick me up?"

I still felt cruddy, but into the car I went, with her period paraphernalia (bag of pads, her pantyliners, her Midol that she insists doesn't 'do a damn thing' and her salty snacks) and I drove to her school and signed her out.  As soon as we get into the car, she says, sarcastically:

"Oh, and thank you, you got me sick, too."

I look at her and offer a sheepish apology.  Honestly, I hadn't had much contact with her since feeling sick, but she was clearly looking for a scapegoat.  Let it be known that when my child is menstruating, she is a literal demon.  Although I've accepted that, I was still surprised at how much she was carrying on.

"Sorry," I mumbled.  I put the car in drive and headed into the direction of her Dad's house, "Wasn't intentional."

She went on, "And it's your fault that my periods are so bad.  You cursed me.  It's your fault that I have these big boobs that hurt my back!  And why couldn't you have given me your ASS instead of these boobs?  My ass is flat!!!"

(It is.  She got her father's ass.)

"You wanna blame me for being a woman too, while you're at it?" I asked her.

"Yes, I do."

"All right, then....have at it."

So, she blamed me for that, too.  I did a lot of nodding and let her vent.  I mean, kiddo - I'm a woman too, I have been dealing with periods for 30 years already, I've got boobs I wish I didn't have, and I certainly didn't want to be sick - but it is what it is.  I know also that when the little demon is in this kind of a mood, there's no winning.  There's a lot of nodding, and a lot of 'uh huh.'  We drove the rest of the way to her Dad's house, where she got out of the car (she did say goodbye, 'love you,' and 'thanks for picking me up' before she left) and went on to continue being a demonic hellion at HIS house.  

She called on Wednesday morning, saying she was still sick, hadn't gone to school, and that her cold had gotten worse.  I had my part two dental appointment, so picked her up from her Dad's after my appointment (with the other half of my face swollen) to bring her back home.  She wanted to see her boyfriend when he got home from school, but I at first, said no, and then when she persisted, insisted she let his mother know the she wasn't well - and surprise, surprise - when his mother told him he couldn't come over, she threw more blame at me.  Not that I expected any less...

"So, because you got me sick, I can't see my boyfriend after school.  And I really, REALLY wanted to see him!"

Now, let me be clear on this boyfriend of hers - he's a good kid and I do like him.  I think, though, she's got a little bit of an obsession - and it's mutual.  I mean - is this even normal?  He's texting her before I even clear the driveway whenever I pick her up from his house.  He's here on Wednesdays and Fridays, and I pick her up from his house on Thursdays.  When they're not physically together, they FaceTime until they go to bed, which most nights, isn't until after two or three in the morning.  He sees MUCH more of her lately than I do.  More than any of us do. 

"Oh, well." I said, shrugging.  

So there ya have it.  I'm to blame for all that's wrong in her life, right now.  

And, yeah, if it's just boys, periods, boobs, and colds, then I guess I can deal with that. 😉 

By the way....all of those of you who also have teenage daughters - I feel ya.  I'm with ya.  I don't know how the hell the Oompa had three and how J's mother had FIVE.  I cannot even deal with the woes of ONE.  I don't even remember being this bad or giving the Oompa this much of an issue.  I guess considering my daughter's talent for theatrics and drama, I'm doing pretty well maintaining my straight face when she has her monthly meltdowns....

Anyhow - in other (less amusing) news...

I am just now starting to feel human again.  I can breathe through my nose again, which is wooooonderful. 😉 My mouth is sore, still, but I am healing nicely.  MAYBE I will wake up tomorrow feeling refreshed and this weekend will be a much better one than last weekend.

Baseball starts next week, so I'm excited about that!  

My Friday night bowling league is going well - the Monday league is the opposite.  I guess we lose on Mondays so we can win on Fridays....only a few weeks remain in the season for Fridays....then Mondays will commence sometime in May.  The elusive 300 has not yet shown up, but I'm not giving up.

I'm also not giving up on the job at the Women's Resources.  They are hiring for a third-shift position.  I've emailed them and let them know I'm interested in interviewing.  I'm hoping that even if I start with shitty hours, that it's a foot in the door, at least - and the next time a daytime position opens up, perhaps they'll consider me before they fill it externally.  Of course, waiting is what I'm used to doing and what I shall continue to do.  I'll keep y'all posted!

We are having a plumbing issue in the downstairs bathroom.  Water is backing up into the tub - it currently smells like a landfill and we're expecting the plumber between 8 and 9am tomorrow morning (THIS morning) - hopefully he shows up as promised.  I will also keep you all posted on that.

As the alarm will be going off in less than six hours, I should say goodnight, now, and as always, thank you all for reading and for following.  My life isn't by any means fascinating, but documenting the normal day-to-day stuff helps keep it interesting at the very least. 😉  I know that not everything I write has to be trauma-related...it took a while to get my (busy) brain to adapt to that idea, too.  (WHAT!?  I'm on a site devoted to healing sexual trauma and I'm writing about my kid needing a possible exorcism?)  Everything written in these pages, though, is life-related - and sometimes, that's a good enough way to unclog, some.  If I can make people smile in the process, then it's a win-win.  

Allrighty - sending everyone my best.  TGIF - have a great weekend, friends. ❤️ 

Love and light,

- Cap