Taking a load off

GAH! I am WIPED OUT.

And a tad sunburnt.

I am far, far, far too old for amusement parks, particularly on 100F days.

But I got the pictures I needed, which I would not have gotten otherwise. And I *did* have a *little* fun.

I was very careful with my arthritic knees, so they're not screaming as loudly as I had imagined. The soles of my feet, however, are not happy. I need a pedicure in the worst way.

Haven't heard from the surgeon's office yet, so I suppose my insurance approval/disapproval letter hasn't arrived. I didn't eat anything today at Six Flags except a chocolate milkshake, but on the way home I had some coconut shrimp at a Chinese buffet. It was splendidly lovely, but I ended up yacking it all later. I think it was worth it; it tasted sooooo good and I only had a couple. It will be nice, I hope, to be able to eat again without yacking.

And since I'm griping, my eczema has flared again, leaving my fingers raw and weepy. This particular type of eczema (dyshidrotic) has been directly correlated with an increase in stress levels, and this seems to hold true for me. I always get a nasty outbreak a few days after a severe stress event of some sort. Late last week, Martha informed her teachers and friends that her parents beat her. We had to have meetings with the school counselor and principal, who had had to examine her for bruises (!!) and such -- which, of course, do not exist for the simple reason that we do NOT beat her. It seemed to have been precipitated by a pretty severe confrontation she provoked at home the evening before... and perhaps she decided that was a way to be important or special. At any rate, the counselor and the principal knew it was bogus, but of course had to investigate anyway. I told them that they're welcome to contact Child Protective Services at any time, and that they've got an open invitation to live with Martha for a few days. Removal of cell phone and computer privileges brought her back to Earth, at least momentarily, but she's rapidly becoming more and more difficult to deal with. We're seeking further professional assistance with her. Nobody can say we haven't tried everything we knew and a few things we didn't know... but there's a breaking point and it's getting nearer. I love her so much, and she has never made it easy for me to do so.

I have debated about how much to blog about our struggles with our oldest child, but keeping completely mum about it isn't helping. I need to talk about it. I'm not really needing advice, since that seems to abound until people get a taste of what it's like. I just need to unload. Hope you don't mind. Gotta keep it real, yanno?