Oh no, Consuela.

Then I told Emmett that Matilda felt bad about her ears and I mentioned the story about his sticky-outy ears. And he picked her up and tipped her upside down and said, "What are you complaining about?! Your ears are perfect and lie flat to your head. I have ear problems! And I'm gorgeous! You're just making up a problem that's not real!"

Aw, that's wonderful. He's such a great big brother.

This will be the third week in a row I've taken time off from work to take a parent to the doctor. Whoohoo.

Oof, that's rough. I'm sorry your mom had a bad fall, and I'm sorry that you're still having to spend so much time and energy dealing with your parents' needs. I wish we had better support in this country for people who need to take a significant amount of time off work to care for sick or aging family members. It's just as important as good maternity leave policies, but doesn't get talked about nearly as much, I think.

Aww, Emmett. What a good bro.

Matilda is gorgeous! With that gently waving hair, and her golden skin! Tell her Lilly thinks she's beautiful, silly boo.

Lilly... is so mired in her Tomboy Pride that she doesn't actually THINK about her looks. She's mostly upset at being so tiny, and her meltdowns wind up sounding like she's trying to reenact Braveheart.

Let's just say, if I never hear the word FREEDOM! shouted in my face again, it will be too soon.

(But, of course, Lilly is also the child who got a pixie cut so she'd look more like a lemming, and who spends half the time these days insisting that she's Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes.)

the child who got a pixie cut so she'd look more like a lemming

... that's fascinating! Where did that come from? I could see getting a pixie to look more like Emma Watson, but a lemming?

the child who got a pixie cut so she'd look more like a lemming

That IS fascinating.

I still don't quite understand why my mother didn't tell me I was ugly and odd...

I am STILL agitated from my meeting with theatre boss. THIS is why I avoid coming to him with my problems-- he makes everything worse, and ends up stressing me out!

I wish we didn't care so damn much about what we look like. Mostly that's a female "we".

Care about it, sure. But THIS much? It's entirely too significant.

(But, of course, Lilly is also the child who got a pixie cut so she'd look more like a lemming, and who spends half the time these days insisting that she's Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes.)

Ha! Matilda's been lobbying for a bob to surprise Lilly the next time she goes up. But I think Matilda will be the surprised one.

My mother told me I was ugly. It turned out fine. Having an object model in "your looks don't matter" suited my personality perfectly.

No one ever needed to tell me I was odd, and no one tried to tell me odd was bad until it was way too late for me to parse it. My parents were not, for a childish sensibility, concerned with fitting in. However, as an adult, I get where they're incredibly bougie and external-standard-bound.

I was petite and blonde and was told I was pretty all the time when I was little, so I never really noticed it. I pretty much thought EVERYONE was pretty so it didn't seem special or anything--just the normal state of being for a kid. Once I hit puberty and pudged out and got awkward, I actually looked at myself in comparison to others and felt like a hideous monster, which, honestly, I kinda still do.