This morning, I woke Ben a little after six; laid out his clothes for him; turned on the gas fireplace (his favorite place in the morning); put a blanket on the hearth; put his homework with a pencil next to the blanket; made him breakfast; packed his lunch; combed his hair; and, miraculously, got him to school on time.
Ben, for his part, got dressed; went by the fireplace; worked at a snail's pace on the homework that he ignored yesterday, despite my repeated instructions to get it done; threw a major fit, which included knocking over kitchen chairs, and looking at me with complete hatred in his eyes; refused to get out of the car at school; caused us to be late, even though we were to the school on time; caused me to go into the office in my jammies and glasses to sign him in late; and sobbed when I left him to be taken to class by an administrator. 
We captured this photo during another of Ben's meltdowns.
I need a hug, a massage, and some chocolate. Ben could probably use the same.
