We learn from other people's mistakes.
I have some wisdom to impart to mothers today.
I encourage you to learn from my mistakes to avoid some crap (literally).

First tip:
When your toddler says "poo-poo potty" and points to their bum.
CHECK their pull-up before you pull it down to put them on the potty.
I made this mistake this morning.
Poop everywhere! Gross, gross, gross.
I had to give her a shower to get rid of the smeary, gross, gross poo.

So, to recap....check first, then if its all clear, pull down the pull-up.

Second tip:
When changing an infants diaper, make sure you are fully awake.
Babies do not always want to keep still for a diaper change.
If you don't have all your wits about you, do not attempt to hold the baby
still while you wipe with the other hand.
Attempting this stunt could potentially lead to very poopy fingers.

So, wake-up....maybe do some jumping jacks, repeat a tongue twister, whatever it takes to be sure you're up to the task, then attempt the wiggly-baby-poopy-diaper wipe.

To summarize and help you remember these important tips (like stop-drop&roll),
1) Check, sniff and pull.
2) Wake-up to wipe.

If you remember these keys, you have a chance of remaining poop-free!

So I had my first trip away from the girls!
I spent a whole weekend away at a women's retreat.

It was great! I feel refreshed and relaxed and ready to take
on the joys and pains of parenting again.

But this entry is not about it, its about my kids.
It was an interesting day back yesterday to watch the
reaction of my girls after I'd left them for so long.

I feel a bit like an anthropologist studying the reactions of various
small creatures who have experienced varying degrees of stress.
Not to be cold or scientific (I'm still their mommy and I love them to bits)
but I'm curious.

So far, I have noted these observations:

Rebecca (specimen one) is fine, its like I wasn't really gone. She was happy and smiley when she saw me and is enjoying playing with me again. Things are back to normal.

It is specimen two (Isabella) that is having a fascinating reaction to the change in stimuli. --hee, hee I like this psychobabble---- Isabella seems to be watching me from a distance, she is fluxuating between being angry with me and being withdrawn. It's like she is deciding whether she still wants to be friends with me.

I'll just keep loving away at her, and breaking down her bitter little resolve. She is so cute! And such a little person, I am totally in awe of her thought processes. I even love it when she sets her stubborn little jaw against me. Because I know that I'm still gonna love her, but it'll be fun to watch her figure that out for herself. Hee hee

Mind blowing thought of the day: They really are unique, little people! They are so deep and complex and such a wonder to discover....learning who they are is sooooooo exciting and sooooo much fun!

I'm am doing way too much.
This is crazy, working extra hours getting the two programs off the ground while
taking care of my kids is just nuts!

So, here is what I propose....
When I hit that point in the day where I'm exhausted or overwhelmed and
feel the need to "shut-down"....I will.

I think people should have that option. If you keep pushing at a crazy speed over 10 years, you would have a nervous break-down. So my new method would actually be
preventative.

You see, no matter where you are or what you're doing, you should just carry a sign with you that says "Shut-down" just like a computer.

For instance, you have 12 errands to run before you get to a work meeting and your kids start acting up in the cereal aisle...what do you do?
Just take out your sign, hang it around your neck, then you can curl up on the floor right there and have a nap. Just shut-down.....mmmmmm.......sleep....Uggggg....

This process would work at home or at work. You could nap at the bank, at the park, in church, during your kid's swimming lesson at the Y...anywhere, anytime....when you've had enough.....just shut-down.

Its preventative care, you'll thank me later.

God really cares!

If that makes you want to stop ready right now, don't worry!
This is not one of those religious speeches that make you want to gag.

It is just a simple story of what happened to me yesterday that made me
stop and say, "Wow! God really cares about me."

On Sunday, our muffler/resonator on car came apart. The result of this, it becomes the loudest car on the road and scares small children when you drive by. We took it to the shop and they said it couldn't be patched with a clamp. (That's what we did the last time this happened) We needed a new part which cost $100 plus labor.
Well, there is no way we could afford that!
So we accepted it, we now drive a loud car! And we decided we would not be embarrassed about it because, hey, we have a car. That is a blessing in itself. But it was deafening our children so we decided to find out if there was a cheaper way to fix it.
D.J. found out from his friend Scott that there is this shop called Benders that does welding on site and they might be able to weld it back together for about $20.
I prayed and asked God to find a way to pay for even this $20 because we just didn't have extra money for it.
SO I took it in to the shop, they saw that I had my 2 toddlers with me, and made my car a priority. They took the car in immediately, had it welded in about 8 minutes and THEN......THE GUY REFUSED PAYMENT FOR THE WORK!!!!

YES....A MIRACLE.....A MECHANIC REFUSED PAYMENT! He told me to just go and not worry about it. So God really cares about me! He got my car fixed for free!

Isn't that AMAZING?????

Today, I am pontificating about romance.

I was thinking about what romance really is. It seems in romantic movies and books, there is always something of a sacrifice that someone has to make in order to be with the one they love. That is our cultural idea of romance. Love at a cost.

This lines up the with The Great Romance, we are being wooed to God and our redemption to be bought back came at a great cost.
(Wow! That was a lot of Christianese in one sentence.)

I do think that all the great love stories have some element of sacrifice in them.
But as I was thinking about this, I thought of all the romantic movies I've seen lately. In almost all of them, the romantic part of the story involved the sacrifice of money. Someone gives up a dream job, someone gives up a contract, someone buys someone their dream vacation or house etc. So, has our social idea of romance become so linked with love, that we can't separate the two?

My challenge for myself today is to think of something romantic to do for my husband that costs no money. Seriously, think about it.
Its hard to think of things we would consider (traditionally) romantic that cost no money. Especially to think of something romantic that I would like, that costs nothing is nearly impossible, I'm shamefully materialistic. (I like pretty things)

And just to prove that I am the closet geek I claim to be, here is the definition of romance according to the dictionary. (Don't read it if you don't want to, but I think its interesting!)

Romance:
n.

A love affair.
Ardent emotional attachment or involvement between people; love: They kept the romance alive in their marriage for 35 years.
A strong, sometimes short-lived attachment, fascination, or enthusiasm for something: a childhood romance with the sea.
A mysterious or fascinating quality or appeal, as of something adventurous, heroic, or strangely beautiful: “These fine old guns often have a romance clinging to them” (Richard Jeffries).

A long medieval narrative in prose or verse that tells of the adventures and heroic exploits of chivalric heroes: an Arthurian romance.
A long fictitious tale of heroes and extraordinary or mysterious events, usually set in a distant time or place.
The class of literature constituted by such tales.

An artistic work, such as a novel, story, or film, that deals with sexual love, especially in an idealized form.
The class or style of such works.
A fictitiously embellished account or explanation: We have been given speculation and romance instead of the facts.
Music. A lyrical, tender, usually sentimental song or short instrumental piece.
Romance The Romance languages.

I just love all things Victorian.
I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice.

I think the culture at the time was so beautiful.
Things were so simple, wholesome and innocent.
Holding hands was an act of unbridled passion.
(yes, perhaps that is a tad repressive)
But overall, the idea that words meant something.
People were careful about what they said, what they did, and how
they behaved.

There was an art to letter writing, conversation and etiquette.
Poise and manners were a sign of dignity.
Now, while I realize that there was a great deal of hypocracy in this time,
there was also the ideals of chivalry and being gentile.

I miss that about the world I live in. Yes, everything is REAL, but there is
also a great lack of things beautiful. I think we've missed out on innocence
and romance in the name being REAL.

I would have loved to live in those days (if I was rich, let me just say that being born poor in that time would have been brutal, so for the poor the world has improved)

But I think I could give up a little of my civil liberties, and education in the ways of the world for something of beauty, innocence and romance. Even if that ideal society may have had its hypocrites, cause hey, who's doesn't?

And besides, a little delusion never hurt anyone.

In Saturday's paper I found the cutest thing.

I thought I would share with my friends here in Winnipeg,
but also with many friends out there who are former Winnipeggers. (Lo-lo, Quackins, Ness, Bob, Michelle, Rebecca, Iain, Susan, and Helen)
I think they especially will get a kick out of it.

There is a website that celebrates some of the strange and wonderful
words that are unique only to Winnipeg.

So if my former 'Pegger friends-you know who you are, even if you don't want to admit it--want to check it out,

go to:
http://www.mts.net/~irisywg/es_pegisms.html

Its really funny!

Wow! Three blogs in one day. I am really living up to the name Chatterblog!

For those of you who are squeamish at the sight of P.D.A.s (public displays of affection) I would suggest that you look away right now.

Don't read on, this will make you barf.
But I just gotta say it.

D.J. has been gone since last night and I miss him so much already.
(puke if you must, but its true)

I am so in love with my husband, he is the most amazing guy and I don't care if the whole world knows it. In fact, I want to tell everyone what an awesome human being he is.

I have never known someone with such strength of character and integrity.
He is a dutiful and loyal son and grandson.
He is a faithful employee in a job where people are backstabbing, conniving schemers. In the middle of that evil place, he has compassion on people who are victims. He is bothered by the evil and is angry at the injustice. To his own detriment, he continually stands up for what is right even when he's the only one.
He truly is an example of a Godly man, without being religious.

He is gifted, and intelligent. His mind is an amazing web that works a million miles a second. He is so smart.

He is athletic and competitive. But he's still a good sport (most of the time).

He is the most loving, selfless father. He would do anything for his girls and he is learning how to do it even better. He wants to do so much more for them that he is always trying to be a better dad.

I may have embarassed him (and myself in front of others) by saying this but its true. I am just so overwhelmed with love for him sometimes. I have to tell everyone I know how amazing he is.

I am the luckiest woman in the world, in addition to all the above characteristics I mentioned, he is also a babe!

I gotta shout it out. I LOVE D.J. !!!!!!!!

Alright, time and rest have rendered me a little more rational.
Sometimes seeing the good in something is just a matter or perspective.

The drop-in isn't as bad as having a terminal illness or getting a life
sentence to a prison in a third world country.

I get paid to work there, that's a good thing.

We may have a problem with mary-jane but so far no heroine, crack or
coke. Keep your fingers crossed!

The violence is kept at a tolerable, boys will be boys level. Nobody has been physically damaged, psychologically I can not speak for, but physically no harm no foul. Well...there is that one wedgie last year....that really had to hurt.
But I'm trying to look at the positive side here.
Focus Erica, Focus.

We have no prostitution at the drop-in. The girls dress like skanks but most girls their age do, so its not just at the drop-in.

Its a safe place for kids to get off the street. And the staff do care about the kids, really underneath our disgust for their putrid behaviour, we really do care.

While they are in the gym, they are not doing graffitti on public property:)
(except maybe in the boys bathroom but nothing in the world could convince me to go in there, that is one inexplicable smell coming out of that room)
-Jr. High boys are just gross-

So there is a purpose to what I'm doing.
I think.
I can keep doing it.
I hope.
The kids really need someone to believe in them.
And I care about them it.
Dang it! I really do.
What a chump!

Its Friday already!
This week has gone too fast and the pace was lightspeed!
I need a nap!

My first day back at work at the drop-in was last night.
And I need to VENT!!!!

If I really believed that the children are our future (Whitney rocks by the way)
then I would say we're about ready for the end of time!
These teens better not be MY future, or I fear there are dark days ahead!

Such DISRESPECT, RUDENESS, LUDENESS, PERVERSION AND MALAISE!
Who bred this generation of lazy, ungrateful, swine?????? AAAAHHHHH!!!

So, my first day back, and I had to call the police.
Great start to a new year. AAAHHHHHH!!!!

You're not supposed to hate your job on the first day back, are you?
One of my staff commented, "I've been back for an hour and I hate them even more than I did last year, I think that's a bad sign."

These kids need sooooo much love, and attention, and structure, and kindness.
It seems a hopeless task to start this when they're already 14 and 15 years old!
I need compassion and grace for them as they are so ANNOYING!

I hate being the drill sargeant, bad cop, mommy, in-your-face, bottom line guy.
I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! But they need it and want it.
But oh, how I hate being that person.
That's my job! I'm a drill sargeant! I'm the bad cop!

But I'm not that person, really I'm not. I just want to scream at them, "I'm a nice person you big stupid jerks, smarten up so I can be nice to you," (I have more explitives going on in my mind but I can't say that to them) --but they can say that to each other----WHY?????? WHY?????

There, now you've seen an official RANT by Erica.
It ain't pretty. But I left out the vulgarity, on the page, but
trust me, in my head, its coming through loud and clear!

It definitely time to potty train.

The poo of a two year old is just gross! Or as my daughter says," its stanky."
But where do you start?

She understands that poo is gross, that she should do it in the toilet, and that if she does, she will be rewarded with smarties.

She wanders around the house saying "poo poo potty, get smarties".
It is her mantra. It is her meditation, yet she doesn't act on this information.

Did I miss a step here?

I welcome comments from anyone who has done this before.
And if your comment is, just let it happen...you have to come to my house and change the next poopy diaper.

No, not really...

I was thinking about some of the current "jargon" that the new generaton of youth is using. "Keep it real", "Stay real" etc....and the new emphasis on reality t.v
(yuck!)

Yet when I walk through a mall, I wonder at the meaning of "real". Teenage girls all look exactly the same. The body shape of celery with their gitch hanging out of their low riser jeans.

(Now I sound like some old lady complaining about all the young hoodlums in the neighbourhood---I know, that every generation of teens has to "fit in"{that's the point of being a teenager} and so they always end up with the same "look")

So what's different this time? This time fitting in requires you to be REAL and yet nothing has changed in terms of the rules of teenage life. (Aside from the new rule ---"Don't trust anyone over 25" but that's a whole different blog!)
If teens are still conforming to fit in but in the name of being REAL, how will they know what is REALLY real? Will there be any individuality in the next generation?

I don't know, these are just musings...maybe working at the teen drop-in really has made me into that old complaining lady who wants all those punks put in boot camp.
Hmmm, I'll think about that later, I have to go eat my metamucil and prunes now.

My new goal in life....

To learn something about the hunk of metal that is sitting on the desk in front of me.
Okay, so I know a little more than that.

But much more than where the power button and "send" buttons are, I don't know.
This blogging thing has inspired me to do more with computers than just e-mailing and
word-processing.

Maybe I'll enter a chat room. Ooooooooo!

Its official. Isabella has an ear infection.

How do I know this? Expert medical attention my friend.
Allow me to lay the scene for you, if I may.

(I'll write as classically as I can so as to preserve the minicule amount of dignity
in the events that transpired ---that, and I'm reading Pride and Prejudice right now)

(I'd also like to preface this story with the fact that my children are very well behaved and gentle creatures under normal conditions.)

The walk-ins are closed on Sundays, and Isabella has had this head cold for a week so I figured there must be more to this than a cold, perhaps an ear infection.
So I called envoy......skip ahead 6 hours.....

The doctor arrives at my door, and from the moment he steps in the door, my eldest daughter begins a red-faced scream of terror. She starts screaming and shaking, yelling "no, no, no doctor!".
Now Isabella, begins to fear as her sister is having a huge hissy fit. So she begins screaming and clinging to me like a baby ape in a national geographic special.

So the doctor and I manage to hold Isabella down while she screams so he can look in her ears while Rebecca is screaming "no, no, my baby" and clinging to my leg. I manage to get her off and put her in her room until her turn....Yes, she also has a cold! AAAAAHHHHHH!

So we get Isabella finished and reasonably recovered, and I go upstairs to get Rebecca. I find her hiding in her tent, and she begins the ordeal anew, just having rested up her vocal cords. With fresh zeal, she screams and panics for the young doctor who is wondering why he ever chose this profession, I'm sure. Through the red- faced, sweaty, clinging, screaming she hears the magic words..."I'm all done."

With that, she stops screaming, looks at the young man and says quite calmly, "Good-bye....mommy, can I have some chocolate milk?"

After many apologies, I let him out of the house and am now preparing for a short nervous breakdown, once my adrenaline stops pumping through my body like wild fire.
Maybe I'll go for a run.
Away.
From home.

The phrases "Judge not lest ye be judged" and "What goes around, comes around"
have been floating around my brain lately.
(Yes, in my brain, things float...and it takes them a while to settle)

I've been thinking about how careless I am about the things I think and say.
It is so easy to pass judgement or form an opinion on people, and even if its
not said aloud, it puts that "law" into motion.

What am I talking about????
I'll give an example, I thought (and probably said) that people who have their kids close together have got to be crazy! Why would anybody do that?
-My kids are 16 months apart.-

Not convinced?
When I worked in the nursery at church, those mothers who fretted over dropping off their kids, and hung around too long drove me crazy. Just drop your kid off and leave!
-I have the hardest dropping Isabella off at the Y nursery. She cries and I try to walk away without being knocked over by the great waves of guilt that come my way.

Now, you might think, that's not a judgement come back to haunt you, that's just a change of perspective. Now that's also true, but if I was more gracious in the first place and saw things from the other perspective in the first place, I'd be less apt to judge. AND I wouldn't feel like a dork, when I make the same mistakes that I've judged other people for.

I guess that what being merciful is kind of about, grace for other people's stupidity that you haven't yet experienced.

Wow! That was an unexpected brain fart!

Wow! I just looked at my new site!
It is so AMAZING, Yvonne (my generous, brilliant friend)
made it for me.

Way to go Yvonne!

Its a terrible thing not to have sick days.

It seems I have contracted a head cold that my
daughters have just gotten over. So now that they
are back to their happy, energetic selves, I'm feeling
like going to sleep for about a week.

When "working people" are ill, they get to take the day off
and stay in bed all day. This makes me very envious.

I think when a stay-at-home parent (parent, not mom because we must be P.C. these days) is sick, they should have a magic number to call.

Immediately after calling the number, three people show up at your door.

First a child-care work of Mary Poppins proportions should whisk your children away so they spend the day in such rapture that they forget even to ask where mommy went.

Second, a maid with the energy and speed of a tornado who is also thorough and meticulous. This super-maid should clean your house top to bottom, cook a three course meal, and iron every article of clothing in the house.

And finally, the masseuse. She would be as efficient in giving massage as sympathy. So you are pampered physically and emotionally.

If this were the case, I would try to get sick at least once a month.

But as it is, I'll just pop a pain-killer and go read the Thomas the Train, one more time!

With the beautiful weather we had (aside from last night's rain) for the last couple of days, I've been "living" in the park with my girls. Trying to make the most of the last hoorah before winter!

My daughters LOVE the swings! And I've made the mistake of showing them how multi-talented I am. I showed Rebecca that I can hang upside down on the monkey bars.

Harmless enough, except she wants me to do it all the time! I've got some serious head rush going on!

Remember what it was like when you were a kid? Hanging upside down, suspended between earth and sky, nothing could be more freeing.

Well now, its a bit of a stressful event. Getting into the hanging position is not a problem.
But then I am worried about whether my knees will hold me up, if my abs can handle swinging me back up, and if I can balance well enough to get back on top of the bars without falling on my head, breaking my neck and leaving my children motherless.

So far, so good.
Only one thing has stayed the same since I monkied around as a kid.
It's still fun!
:)

The great thing about blogging is that it gives you the opportunity to think
about what you say before you write it, and put it out in the world.
But since I don't take advantage of this opportunity in person, I don't think
I'll do it while blogging either. It would feel wrong, like I'm cheating somehow.
So I'll just say whatever comes into my little head here too... just like in person.
If I mess up, it won't be the first time I've said the wrong thing.

What I noticed the other day, is that I always seem to say the wrong thing when I'm in church.
Doesn't have to be a specific church, any church will do. I'm not sure if there are just more wrong things you can say in a church or if church brings out the rebel in me.

But get me within 10 feet of a Christian (epecially a pastor of some kind) and I'm bound to say something stupid, controversial or completely inappropriate. It's like some kind of compulsive urge. I just want to flip out in some kind of Terret's Syndrome tantrum! Seriously, its horrible.

Don't believe me?
Example, one time Nathan (a pastor) asked me what we call our daughter Rebecca for short. So I shot back (instantly, without forethought) "Sexy Becky". Which is totally not true!
I've never called her that in my life! I have no idea where these things come from.

(To my blog readers: I told you in my first blog that I am neurotic!)

So my options are avoid church or go, smile and wear a muzzle. Keep my comments strictly to the weather. Maybe they have a pill for this or something. Doesn't ridaline cure everything????

Happy Monday!

It seems like everybody hates Mondays but I like them! Yes. You heard that right!
I like Mondays!

The weekends are sooooo crazy and my kids schedules are all wonky so they are hyper
and crazy. They won't nap properly because of all the excitement....we're out all the time, and daddy is home....party, party, party. Yeah!!!!!!!!

So, along comes sweet Monday with its regularly scheduled programming. Daddy is back at work, only mommy is home....BO-RRRRING! We eat at the regular time, play at the regular time and nap at the regular time. Life is back to normal. And mommy can relax!

Hee-hee....I just referred to myself as mommy. Looooossssser!
I think I am slowly becoming one of those moms who I always thought were so boring. It seriously frightens me. I am running out of non-kid-related things to say.
People are too polite to tell you that you are boring the tar out of them, but I think I'm boring ....me.

Well...I'm off to the library to find a book to read. Maybe I can find something so riveting, it will spur on fabulous conversations with my non-mommified friends.

Love and Marriage...

The other day my husband and I went for coffee with some friends we hadn't seen in a long time. We got to talking about other friends from the past that we used to play volleyball with. Of the eight couples (including us) that hung around together, FOUR were either separated or divorced already. I understand this is in keeping with the national average, but when its people that you actually know, that statistic becomes much more real and more scary!

HALF of marriages end in divorce! The reality of the statement is very sad.

So I started thinking, what is it that will keep my marriage from becoming a part of that horrible statistic? Outside of God, nothing. I could not think of one thing besides the grace of God that can keep a marriage together.

We've all heard the psychologists claim that COMMUNICATION is the cure-all that will save marriages. But how do you communicate with someone you can't trust? If you can't be open and vulnerable and share your heart, then you have nothing to COMMUNICATE about.

So is being able to trust someone the answer? I'm finding that trust is essential, and that comes slowly after a long time of showing love to one another. Saying it is one thing, but showing it is way harder.

But you can trust someone and still think they are a dork. (I am not talking about my husband by the way, he is really cool) So, it has to be beyond trust. Once you trust each other, you still have to love him/her even when they are a dork! So its UNCONDITIONAL love that carries over the long haul, because at one time or another, we all act like jerks and still need to be loved and forgiven.

I have yet to meet any human being capable of unconditional love, all the time. That has to come from God. I know I need grace NOT to plot my husband's murder from time to time.

I thank God that I know Him and that He is gracious enough to keep my marriage alive and well. And keep us both from murdering each other. And I hope I'll be brave enough to share with all our non-Christian friends. I'm still kinda wimpy about that, but that's a whole different issue!

The value of a toy.

I am going through the kid's toys today to thin out the ones that they don't use anymore.
Good problem to have, my kids have too many toys. They are so blessed, its awesome.

I was thinking about how much the kids value different toys that they have as I went through the various baskets on the shelf. "Can't give this one away, Bella loves it" or "Neither of them play with this one anymore." I realized that the value the girl's assign to the toys has nothing to do with it's monetary value. Some of the toys that cost $1.49 are played with more than the one that cost $40.00!

I just spent 15 minutes blowing bubbles with Rebecca. Cost of activity....$1.49! She was laughing and squealing like crazy. Then I asked if she wanted to play on her computer ($78.00) and she said, "no, play crayons". (cost $2.49)

So, what's my point? (Please don't ever assume that I have one, its bound to lead to much dissappointment) Its just interesting how differently adults and children assign value to things.
(Well that's an abrupt end to my blog. Kinda feels like I'm leaving something out eh?)

Transition - its the clinical word for change.
It's tough...just ask any woman in "the change", they'll tell you that transition is difficult.

I was talking to a friend the other day, who just recently became a new mom. We spoke about what a huge transition (there's that word again) it is when you have your first child. It is really difficult to go from all that freedom and selfishness, to having your life run by the cries and sleep schedule of a little tyrant. Not to mention being the on-call moo-cow that is in demand whenever and wherever. That may sound harsh but I'm not a HUGE fan of the newborn stage. They look cute and all, but I REALLY like to sleep.

We decided that it would be easier if people were honest about the down side of a new baby. You see people in public with their babies, they are all smiles as they show off their bundle of joy. When you ask how they are enjoying parenthood, and they talk about how cute and sweet the baby is (I did it too). But rarely do they mention the sleepless nights, the endless diapers, teething, lonliness, and the sensation of being totally overwhelmed.
My friend was hit with the same shock as I was when she entered motherhood. That sense of despair is multiplied when you look around and it seems that everyone else is enjoying motherhood, it must be just me.

I think many other cultures have the right idea putting new moms together so they can support each other during this difficult transition. It is hard. Everyone feels it, though people only show their vulnerable sides to varying degrees.

Maybe I'll write an "honest" (as I see it might be more appropriate) account of being a new mom. Chapter One will be entitled, "No you're not crazy, you just need some sleep".

So to anyone out there who is in this transition, hang-in there, it does get easier. And everyone else felt as crazy as you do right now.
And to anyone who has a friend in this delicate condition, go easy on them. The ability to make a co-herent sentence will return, and eventually they'll stop bursting into tearing at inopportune times. We hope.
Remember, its a transition.










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