I made the mistake of mentioning John Gottman's ability to predict marriage failure based on the presence of contempt in the relationship. The fellow ran with that and now, I'm trying to show him how he can replace his contemptuous language (learned from his parents) with more honest, productive language.

The what now? This reads to me like he heard this and started using more contemptuous language. Is that right? Was he trying to make his marriage fail? Because if so, "I want a divorce" has a pretty good success rate in the marriage-ending stakes, and is ultimately less damaging.

I am at the airport. I have a bagel. I will sleep more on the plane.

In-laws are once again ensconced in the spare bedroom. Trip to collect them took twice as long as expected due to roadworks, by which time they were wandering free-range in the airport. They're here for six months. Ryan is taking to them again faster than I expected. Perhaps he still has some memory of them, or maybe it helps that we've been showing him the photos of them together in the lead-up.

Still a strong preference for Mummy and Daddy, of course. But it looks like he'll be ok with them looking after him when we're at work.

Oh! and Ryan tried jelly (Jell-O, for Americans) for the first time today! And hated it. There was substantial red jelly mess to clean up. He was, however, quite thrilled to feed it to Daddy instead. I am not sorry to see this. Sugar is not a big part of his diet. He has fresh fruit and yoghurt, and some plain biscuits nowadays; he only drinks water and milk, no fruit juice. It looks like it's working so far. (I seem to recall that his ability to taste bitterness develops around age two, so his current healthy eating habits may well come under fire, but for the moment I think he's developing some good habits.

Better than his Daddy, certainly, who virtually lives on Coke Zero and had no objections whatsoever to being fed jelly by his little boy.

I'm sorry about the stray pitbull, smonster, and I hope he beats the odds.

HKF is at her first sleepover. She took a book in case she woke up early. There haven't been any distress calls, and DH and I are slounging. I remember this feeling, vaguely. It's lovely.

Now to get ready to do Saturday Art class at the co-op.

The detroit airport has a psychedelic tunnel. I'd forgotten about that.

Not dead.

Just pinin' for the fjords?

Just doing a PhD and teaching.

Is that like pushing up daisies?

I'd apologize, but I ain't sorry.

Hello, people. Would you like to Wake Up With Fry and Laurie? It's been too long since we did that. [link]

Ooooh, that was brilliant! I missed doing that! Though, I confess to having seen it immediately before going to bed just before 4am. Yeah, I don't want to take the trazadone every day, but looking at the quantity in which she prescribed them, that nurse might be expecting me to do just that. Still, a good laugh before sleep was a good strategy for relaxation.

Still a strong preference for Mummy and Daddy, of course. But it looks like he'll be ok with them looking after him when we're at work.

Yay for safe arrival of the grandparents of one of the most charming young persons on the planet!

Oh! and Ryan tried jelly (Jell-O, for Americans) for the first time today! And hated it. There was substantial red jelly mess to clean up. He was, however, quite thrilled to feed it to Daddy instead.

Ded. Ded of teh cute.

DH and I are slounging. I remember this feeling, vaguely. It's lovely.

Mmm. I can imagine that must feel decadent.

The detroit airport has a psychedelic tunnel. I'd forgotten about that.

All I remember about it is the indoor trains for getting across the terminal. I thought that was fun. I hope the rest of your journey is safe, and that you can thoroughly enjoy your time in the sun.

Mackinac Island

Somewhere in Time!

This.

Also, if we ever visit the Grand Hotel, I will be greatly disappointed if they do not have a portrait of Jane Seymour on the wall.

I think one of the guys I cared for at the group home back in Arizona died. He used to ask me to bring him to my place so he could pet Harvey. He always said he could see so much love in Harvey's eyes. Such a good guy, he tried to mentor another fellow who had the same serious mental illness he worked hard to manage. The other guy was not receptive; but the fact that he tried just showed what a heart he had.