* just breathe *

I think those are the words I have to keep telling myself right now. She doesn't know how to stop this. But maybe... maybe she does. I don't know.

See I have this child who, despite all the wonderful things in life, will look and find the bad. She's not a glass half empty person... she is a not-a-drop-of-water-in-the-glass type person. There is usually something ailing her from being happy. It used to always be a tummy ache.

She didn't want dinner = tummy ache.
Didn't want to go to bed = tummy ache.
Didn't want to get out of bed = tummy ache.
Didn't want to go to school (yes she has already pulled this one) = tummy ache.

But now the problem has changed. The tummy ache wasn't getting her far enough. So now (drum roll please) we have toes that hurt. Yes her TOES!! And NO her shoes are not to small... so please don't suggest that they are. In fact she has new shoes just to make sure of this. It would almost be commical, if it wasn't so darn annoying to listen to her cry because of her toes hurting.

She doesn't want to sit in the car another minute = toes hurt.
Wants out of the shopping cart for which she begged to sit in = toes hurt.
Wants to watch TV = toes hurt.
And my favorite, she needs a drink (because who knows what would happen if you just asked for one) = toes hurt.

So I'm sitting here at my computer trying hard to think of the other side to her, while she cries in bed that she want's medicine for her hurting toes. The happy, playful, sweet girl that she can be. I'm trying to remember, really I am. I guess that's what I love about looking at pictures. It's so much easier to remember that side her when I have a version of her on my computer screen, in which she is smiling back.

She just decided she will say a prayer to get them to stop. Amazing once she came up with a solution how things magically changed. If I had offered this solution she would tell me it doesn't work. But tonight, she thought of it, so it will work. And if that's
the way it goes... I'm okay with that. For tonight. I just need to get some sleep. So long as I don't even dream of toes!