It's What's For Dinner

Some weeks are just like this. I am well aware that not all of Noemi's challenging behaviors are related to the difficulties previously discussed. Sometimes she's just plain tired or wants to be pushed one last time on the swing before leaving the park. Sometimes she wants to come down the stairs all by herself when we are running late and I have to carry her. Sometimes she's just my sweet, dismayed toddler gorilla. But sometimes you mix the cocktail of Tiredness with Toddlerness and then throw in a hefty garnish of Attachment and Trauma and *BABOOM* you've got yourself one bomb of a cocktail.

These are the days when Donovan and I bicker over the kitchen sink, splicing and dicing the variables in a meager attempt to figure out which end is up and how to better parent our daughter.

These are the days we eventually feel defeated and head straight for the snack shelf.
You know exactly what I'm talking about. I know I'm not the only one who has that special shelf in the pantry or freezer dedicated to the adult time-out. Oh Ben and Jerry's Mud Pie, you're like a Hallmark card for the gut. Oh Trader Joes Baked Jalapeno Cheese Crunchies, you wake me up from a sleep deprivation-induced coma and give me zing. Oh dark chocolate covered almonds chased by Pennywise Petite Sirah, you are disco to my soul. So thank you, faithful comfort foods, for playing your part in this past year. I love you.