This Is Me...

Right in front of a portrait of my great-aunt, Joan Delaunay. I took her last name for myself when I needed a new one, for the purposes of anonymous blogging. Then I took the first name of her sister, my grandmother Anna. And then, voila! The author of this blog was born.

Today is a straight-hair day. (I am LOVING this dry winter.) If you've been over to my website you've seen me on a curly-hair day. Just thank your lucky stars you have not seen me on a Brillo-pad day. I haven't had one of those since I was eighteen, but trust me, if you'd seen me on one of those you'd have run away screaming. People did.

Anyway, I'm out. This day was hard. Benjy told me he wants to be hospitalized again. He just cannot get a handle on his depression. I know this, of course. Not only that, I know he is bona fide bipolar -- not simply "manic because of his Lexapro." He is one-hundred percent bipolar, man. His rapid-cycling from deep depression to mania last weekend -- and guess who stayed up the whole night with him? NOT the parent with the Y chromosome -- followed by days of wild mood swings clinched it for me. Because now I know that on all those other nights over the past few years when he was agitated and couldn't sleep, pacing around the house, me following him so he didn't get into some kind of trouble, he was MANIC. He was depressed at the same time, usually, but guess what? I just learned that happens sometimes, and it's called a mixed state.

So I guess starting tomorrow I can add a few more hours to the YEARS of medical/psychiatric  research I have already conducted.

Wot larks!

Ok, I really am out, now. Lars went up ages ago. Even Saskia did. Benjy conked out an hour ago. It's only the Hellacious Hound and me down here. And he is fast asleep.