Argh

Cold back with a vengeance. Slept dreadfully. Need lists.
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Twenty years

This period between my birthday and Christmas, it's twenty years since my parents stopped living in the same house; we moved from 2 Ardenza Terrace to a basement flat, there was trauma and tragedy and upheaval, Christmases went from awful to unbearable (they are now fab), and for easily four years we were under constant stress due to The Situation.

I'm glad I got to be a grownup.

"A bit young?"

I was in Lush buying secret gifts for my seven-year-old, and chatting to the staff who were helping me choose and pay for the things I got. I said she'd circled every single thing in the catalogue, which they found amusing, and then I said "It's difficult being my daughter, I don't do things like this [indicate mounds of Smelly Pampering Things], but she's experimenting with expressions of femininity."

The woman at the till said "A bit young, isn't she?"

I was amazed. I said something about children playing princesses and Barbie and things, but I was very taken aback. I move in such a bubble that I forget people are unaware of how gender-expression is played out and trained in, I think.