I'm supposed to poke Emily this morning and wake her up. Unfortunately, I was so asleep when she told me this that I forget what *time* I am/was supposed to wake her up. I hope she didn't need to be anywhere early this morning.

Thanks, vw. I know a lot of it is my own fault. She helps me out with certain things that I find difficult to get done, and I haven't proven myself to be very responsible the past few years. But, she is still trying to run my whole damn life and give me "chores" for my apartment that I live in alone like I am a little kid. I don't know how to break out of this pattern, and I shouldn't be crying about this like I am a little kid. I'm only proving her right about me when I do this.

Lily is just so beautiful.

I think that one of her in the pink hat with her teeny tiny hand by her cheek is my most favoritest right now.

Karl's ogling is very subtle, if slightly indiscriminate(nobody's ever ogled me in my life, I mean, so...I'm sure Kristin is ogle-worthy.) Can't face my e-mail yet...full to the brim with politics and Urgent! things I must do, right now!(And they're not fucking great.) "Every single night/ the same arrangement. I(stay in) and fight the fight/ Still I always feel this strange estrangement./ Nothing here is real. Nothing here is right." So, um, timelies.

Poor pink-eyed Christopher. I hope his doctor's appt. isn't traumatic. Can't really blame him for his reticence, though.

If my prior experience has any bearing in this instance, the appointment isn't going to be nearly as bad as administering the eyedrops for days and days. The last time I can remember him having conjunctivitis was two days after my dad died. He and Julia were both sick the next day. There was a horrific snow storm. Scott stayed home and took them to the doctor's, while I went out with my mother, making all the arrangements.

The next morning--a Saturday--their eyes were all gucky when they woke. Scott had the doctor's service page the doctor, because we had the wake and funeral coming, and wanted the kids on antibiotics before that, because honestly, they looked like they had snot coming out of their eyes, and we needed people to babysit them.

The doctor ripped Scott a new one for having him paged, because conjuntivitis isn't an emergency and doesn't merit paging. Scott ripped the doctor a new one right back, and told him about the wake and funeral. Me? I just got the uncomfortable displeasure of being the next parent to have to face the doctor, and have the uncomfortable conversation needed to mend the fence they'd both trashed.

Anyhow, Chris was a few months shy of three years old, then. Julia had it then too, and wasn't quite four and a half. Putting the drops in Chris's eyes was hell. It wasn't great doing Julia's eyes either, but slightly better. With Chris? It took the two of us. And we could still put him up on the changing table, then. Hopefully he'll be more mature about it now, but I have my doubts.

With Leif, I rolled him up in a towel and then put the eye-drops in. All wrapped up like a burrito, he couldn't put up his usual fight.

He didn't put up a fight about being rolled up in a towel?

sj, it's probably tough for your mom, too. Just try to remember she does it because she loves you. Stand your ground firmly but lovingly. And remind her that you have to be free to make your own mistakes and live with them as an adult. Maybe you haven't been perfectly responsible but heavens knows not every adult is perfect. It's the learning from the mistakes that helps us BE adults.

Cindy, I've covered my eyes and am singing "lalalalalala" at the thought of giving eye drops.

With Leif, I rolled him up in a towel and then put the eye-drops in. All wrapped up like a burrito, he couldn't put up his usual fight.

This works well with cats, too.

He didn't put up a fight about being rolled up in a towel?

Getting rolled up in a towel is just good fun until someone tries to put drops in your eye.