Something unusual happened this morning. At 7:30 a.m. I heard a knock at my bedroom door. It was my step-daughter. She had fallen out of bed and was crying. (Her bed is high...like 3 1/2 feet off the ground) Hubby reached his arms out and said "come here" to her. She stopped, looked at us both and made a decision to come to my side of the bed. She snuggled in with me and fell back to sleep. I have never really felt like the two of us have bonded as much as I would like to. I was so thankful that she chose me to comfort her this morning. Maybe the bond is tighter than I thought.

She has been using this "falling out of bed" excuse all morning. "Emily, drink your orange juice" ... "I can't, my back hurts." "Janet, I can't find my hair brush because my back hurts". I know where she gets that from, and it's not our house. The she-ex is still complaining from falling down the stairs. That's why we have to do all the running around for Emily's birthday party next weekend. I'm trying not to let this drive me crazy. I'll attempt to concentrate on the hug that I got this morning and not hold the daughter responsible for the teaching that she's received from her mother.