rose: this afternoon, we went to a gathering at paul and sarah's place, for joanna, who's visiting from australia. our sons hit it off, and a short visit became a long visit, which turned into dinner :) it was really lovely hanging out. joanna is such an enriching presence, genuine and unpretentious. i'm looking forward to more time together over the next few days.

thorn: we had a really rough morning. otis had me up at 5:30, and by 8:30 i had reached my rope's end with eamon. he was constantly ignoring me; everything i said rolled off him like water off a duck's back. when i showed that i was upset, he just laughed at me. which made me feel so worthless. i remember reading once that the things that REALLY upset us with our kids, are really unfinished business from our childhood. my sister controlled everything and i had no power or say in my interactions with her. she made me feel frustrated and desperate. there's definitely an emotional connection there. sometimes i feel like i pick all the wrong battles with him. i mostly just want to follow through with my instructions and be consistent. i'm trying to instill certain traits, specifically being considerate of others, and it feels like a losing battle.