A little sick

Having Ellie gone for a bit more than a week has been somewhat informative. She picks up new patterns around new people and expresses different patterns of her own. When she was at her grandparents house, she described her mom as "a little sick." She said it when she got home too.

I asked her, "Why do you say Mom is a little sick? Is it because she has to use canes to walk?" Ellie said yes. Obviously, in Ellie's mind, Linda isn't really sick because she is home, but she isn't really right either. So that's how Ellie describes it, a little sick.

Ellie doesn't really like that her mom is a little sick. In Linda's words, "She doesn't like me." Ellie definitely does prefer me now, which is to be expected since I do most things with her. But I have noticed, especially since Ellie got home this week, that she specifically doesn't like Linda to be included in things. Ellie wants me to play outside, but she would prefer for Linda to stay in the house. She doesn't like Linda to come into her room (although she often doesn't want anyone in her room in the morning), and so on.

It's a little bit hard on moms, losing their status as the favorite. That's not to say that there aren't some real advantages to being second favorite (I know, it was my status for a long time). But Linda doesn't feel like second favorite even. Linda understands it, but it makes her sad too.