Therapy is totally bullshit, and fuck all that self awareness! But, you know, also keep working.

This. All of it.

Speaking of headaches! I went and saw my wonderful dentist on Tuesday, and when I talked to him about my (never-ending, just changing intensity) headaches/migraines, he went "Hmmm", and did some super-painful pressure tests at the base of my skull, my temples, and my jaw. Then he did a terrifyingly painful pressure massage on my jaw muscles which made my migraine go away.

The muscles in all three of those spots are completely locked with tension. Which is something my dentist has dealt with all his life, has the same sort of chronic migraines as me, and treats them with Botox injections in those muscle groups, which gives him four months of no migraines at a time.

Guess what I did today? I am entirely pain-free for the first time in ... I don't actually remember when. I've had some level of daily headache/migraine for years. This is really weird. Fantastic, but weird.

That's wonderful, Jilli!

That's great, Jilli. I'm so glad you've got pain relief.

Also very happy at Sophia's excellent news.

And Scrappy's new house.

I am proud of all of you digging deep into your psyches and doing the hard work of therapy. I know it's difficult and exhausting at times.

Emmett called tonight and we had a long, lovely hour long talk. That mostly consisted of him telling me How Cool His Sister Is. He hasn't really been around since he's been at college so he kind of missed that whole thing where she was becoming a pre-teen. But he got a full dose of her awesomeness at camp and he was really smitten.

Steph, you certainly should. A sample size of two is twice as big as one! Maybe they will work for you. I get them at Costco.

Jilli, I'm so thrilled for you! I wish you many more painfree days.

I will say, after years of crying so much during therapy that my therapist joked about a tissue surcharge, I can now go sessions without crying at all. Clearly we each have our own journey, and i don't think I ever found the process quite so painful as some of y'all, but I have hope that it will get easier.

Jilli, that's excellent!

It just started pouring down rain here, and it's still so dark the porch light is on (it's on a light sensor, because I'm married to a mad scientist). I think that's the universe telling me to go back to bed. (However, the AMA would disagree. And I have really good iced coffee, so back to work for me.)

Guess what I did today? I am entirely pain-free for the first time in ... I don't actually remember when. I've had some level of daily headache/migraine for years. This is really weird. Fantastic, but weird.

I got goosebumps reading this, it made me so happy.

Emmett called tonight and we had a long, lovely hour long talk. That mostly consisted of him telling me How Cool His Sister Is. He hasn't really been around since he's been at college so he kind of missed that whole thing where she was becoming a pre-teen. But he got a full dose of her awesomeness at camp and he was really smitten.

And that knocked me over into tears of joy. Such a beautiful sibling relationship.

As I recover from the dysfunction of my own family of origin, seeing happiness in other families is so healing for me.

Happy 21st, CJ!

Is "21 minis" 21 mini bottles of booze? Because that's AWESOME.

I win some sort of Uber-Nerd prize that I thought Lego mini figs until Steph said this, right? That's right, I thought Lego rather than booze for a 21 YEAR OLD's birthday! Let all lesser nerds bow before me!

Jilli, I'm so pleased for you! Hope this is a continuing trend.

Go alla y'all with your awesome therapizing selves! I am under the impression that I'm doing okay, pretty much, right now, so nobody disabuse me of that any time soon, m'kay?

Hugs to everyone (except those who don't want 'em). Morning, all!

Awww, Emmett. Yes, your sister is Very Cool.

Yay, Jilli! That's wonderful. I'm so glad you're pain free right now.

I love Emmett and Matilda's relationship. I remember how fraught it was for him at the beginning, and it's beautiful to see the evolution.

Hope the pain has subsided, Suzi. Please wish CJ a happy 21st from me!