Rumpled

In Little Women, Jo says that she is rumpled in her mind as she tousles her hair, as if to illustrate the point.

I can definitely relate.

First though, my friend Jessica had her baby today. An *11 pound* boy! It was a transferred homebirth, but no c-section and they're home already :). Congrats Jessica!

The motor home saga continued throughout the day. I wanted to go to the insurance company, pick up the new cards; then to the bank; then to DMV to find out if I had the right forms. Instead, when I got to the bank, there as line a mile long, so I scratched that. I then realized that I didn't have Tom's driver's license, so I couldn't get the MH registered, because the title is in Tom's name and I needed his DL in order to process the paperwork. Argh!

So I decided just to head on to Alyce's, which was delightful. The baby, May, is just gorgeous and easygoing and cute as a bug, and peed on me the second I picked her up :). Initiation I guess! I gave her a sling lesson, the girls played in the creek out back, and we generally had a nice and relaxed visit.

By the time we left though, we were starving, as it was around 2. I realized I couldn't stop at DMV to find out about the forms with all of us starving, so I decided to go home and feed us and call from there. I was soooo tired, but I didn't nap - I stayed up and tried to deal with this crap (which isn't even MY crap, can I remind you?). DMV said there was no reason that I needed to register the vehicle in order to have it towed, as long as it was insured. Yeehaw. That saves us $120, right? Wrong. To be continued...

So, I call Tom to tell him the good news. He is skeptical but hopeful. He tells me though that his father has been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis. I still haven't had a chance to read anything about it, but will tonight. He's pretty upset, so I offer to stop by his parents to check in on my way to work. I call work and tell them I'll be late.

So I stop in at his parents, get no info about the doctor appointment but an earful about how Tom has a bunch of crap in the garage (including some of mine that I didn't know about from when I moved to NY!) and his former bedroom is still filled with mildewed stuff that needs to be packed and gotten out, since they want to have the house appraised. I offer a few choice opinions about his packrat tendencies, which do drive me over the edge frequently. I don't say anything to him though, because of that whole quiet passive aggressive thing he does ;). It was good to vent a bit.

Then, the kicker. She apparently told Tom this, who never told me, so I was completely blindsided. Apparently, while the girls were there on Tuesday night, she was "stern" (according to Emma) with Emma when she found that E. had climbed up on the sink to use the mirror. She was legitimately afraid that Emma would fall (which I know she wouldn't, but she's not used to kids). Emma apparently got quite upset at being talked to about this, as she is very sensitive and my MIL can come off pretty flip sometimes.

So, Emma journaled about her feelings (that my MIL is crabby and that she doesn't like her, etc.), but seeing as how she didn't have her actual journal, just wrote it on paper and proceeded to forget it and leave it on the bed the next morning when I picked her up.

My MIL found it and read it and was pretty hurt by it. I didn't have any idea what to say, but didn't feel compelled to make excuses for, or apologize for Emma's feelings. I did talk to Emma, and tell her that it was OK to have feelings and to journal about them, but a private journal was a safer bet, and that she had hurt some feelings and she might owe an apology. She had realized she had left them there, but didn't want to say anything to me and was mortified by the whole thing, but agrees that she owes an apology. I don't feel compelled to do anything else I guess.

So, I get the girls to work. I'm overly hormonal, exhausted and grumpy, and on the verge of tears. I realize when I get there that I was supposed to assist in 2 classes and am quite late. Argh! So I go back and help. Tom was supposed to pick the girls up after work, but somehow it took an HOUR to get 2 miles from our house to his parents to pick up the AAA card and to call them and then to drive a block to the gym. Um yeah. OK. So he proceeds to snap at me that the DMV is wrong and that AAA won't tow the damn MH w/o registration and inspection - as if it's MY fault somehow! I told him not to come into work and snap at me and he grabbed the girls and left.

He's not home yet, and I'm glad. Maybe I'll pretend to be asleep when they all get home ;). Where's the margueritas in this joint?

So, perhaps I'll feel less rumpled now that *I've* journaled ;).