The Last Word

(A friend asked yesterday if I thought H had become comfortable enough with us to "have a bad day." There is no doubt in my mind that the answer is an emphatic YES! She can be as annoying, nerve-grating, persistent and stubborn as her mother, oops, I mean siblings. Here's a little interchange that those of you with children--adopted or not--might relate to illustrate my point).

Sometimes H talks a lot, but sometimes she will be quiet and moody. I don't always know if it is related to how she's feeling or if sometimes she is just more quiet/loud than others. Either way it is tiring. She can also be very insistent about things that she doesn't completely understand.

For example, she will ask (on a Saturday), "Tomorrow, school?" and I will respond, "No, tomorrow is Sunday." She then, very matter-of-factly will announce, "NO. Tomorrow school." This interchange will go on for a few rounds until I pick up the calendar and say, "Okay, look, here's today. Here's tomorrow. Tomorrow is Sunday. There is no school on Sunday. Remember?" To which she replies, "Oh right." and skips off leaving me emotionally exhausted from battling over a fact with someone who is certain I am wrong about said fact even when it's a black or white issue. (Is the sky blue? No, the sky is not blue. Yes, remember it was blue yesterday...and on and on...)

Language issue, maybe? Preteen girl, perhaps? Annoying quality to her mother---definitely.