My friend has a good ear and a kind heart

And I thank her for that. I got to rant about my parents today. You'd think I was 16 again. :) Highlights of the rant follow:
The last time I saw my dad in person, I was 9 years old. He drove my sister and I to camp and left home the next day. I did see him again on television. I saw him on the Jerry Springer show maybe 8 years ago? Chasmyn asked me if I had ever tried to contact my dad, and years of repressed stuff started spewing out of me. I don't want to find my dad until I can talk to him without making him wrong. Anyway, talk turned to my mom. Heh.
My arthritis acts up every year around my birthday. Today Chasmyn helped me figure out why. The pain is a manifestation of my repressed emotions. It hurts around my B-Day because of the crap I've heard from my mom every year since I was 10. I get to hear how dad chose to name me after the valley in Wales that his grandparents came from. Except he made it all up. I get to hear how boys will want to date my sister because she's fun, and they'll want to date me for my body. As an adult, she instead tells me how great it is that I found a man who loves me for my brain and my body.
Mom still tells the story of how I was called "butterball" so often that I used it as a name in kindergarten. And she tells it with me standing right next to her, as if I wasn't there. She tells lots of stories about me. They're rarely flattering. I find that I'm a bit resentful.

Somehow I survived this (and so much more) with a reasonable level of sanity and a passion for life.

Oh, and today I made 2 batches of cookies, wrapped some presents and found room in the closet for a dozen or so sweaters. I'm proud of me.

P.S. Just read Abbreviated Abstractions. Roberta has given me all kinds of great things to think about. Fortunately, I've got the domesticity thing covered. The couch is plenty big enough for snuggling, and we own a massage table.
Tonight L took the snuggle spot, and we got to cuddle for almost 2 hours while watching Battlestar Galactica. What other mom gets to snuggle with their 12 year old? I'm so lucky!