A Bloody Nose Would Wake Me Up, Too

Well, it's almost 11:30 p.m. and I just threw a load of laundry in. Why, you may ask? Well, because Brigid woke up to another bloody nose, only this time, I was able to get her back to sleep and get the soiled bedding out from under her. I've never had a child who suffers nosebleeds the way this kid suffers nosebleeds. And they're not just trickles or bloody boogers -- they're gush-fests. You'd think she'd grow faint from loss of bodily fluids with the amount it seems that she loses. I've warned the day care center that she has bloody noses, and they nodded and said, Oh, that must be something. Until they witnessed one. A few weeks ago, they told me she was wearing different clothing and they were sending her bedding home a day early because she had sat up from nap and her nose just started gushing. They couldn't stop it for what they said seemed like an hour. I said, "Welcome to my world." She had three others in the space of 24 hours. We've talked to the doctor and didn't get any information and they didn't seem too concerned. But even Brigid knows this can't be normal because she'll talk about it. She'll comment on her bloody nose and it registers that she doesn't like them, that they're something I get concerned about and they're something she cries about. I wasn't able to adequately wipe her face tonight, so in the morning, I'm afraid she's going to look like she went a few rounds because she has blood all over her cheeks. Maybe I should send her to day care like that to see what they say...

Patricia is speaking before the city school board tomorrow night. She and two other students are going to talk about the new integrated language program in the sixth grade. Students take Spanish for one quarter and French for a second quarter to prepare them for a foreign language in the seventh grade. I think it's great.

Margaret and Patricia both performed last Thursday night in a band and chorus concert at school. I am always amazed at how good the music program is at the middle school -- the chorus (both girls sing in the chorus) was wonderful. The 7th- and 8th-grade band was as phenomenal as always. Patricia is taking clarinet this year and will be in the band at some point. This also marks the first time Brigid sat through the concert without one of us having to take her into the hall in the middle of the thing. It may be a developmental milestone.

On a personal note, I finished my book a few weeks ago and yesterday I hit the "send" button and sent it off to the agent for her read-through. I'm beside myself with excitement at the prospect of having an agent represent my work to publishers. Of course, it's a long-shot no matter what because the publishing world is difficult. But to have finished the manuscript and then to have someone who wants to read it -- I'm walking on a cloud.