My jaw is killing me today, and it’s started to affect my left ear. I know why, too. Apparently it keeps Meg up at night. Yes, I’m a teeth-grinder. It’s come back to haunt me after a few years. Dentists call it bruxism, a disorder caused by stress or anxiety that causes people to bite or grind their teeth violently, usually while asleep (though I’ve noticed I do it a lot more often now, and am trying to make a conscious effort not to - do you think chewing gum would work?). Let me tell you, it’s killing me. And the sad thing is, I do have a mouthguard specifically made for this, but it’s down in VA, which doesn’t help me. I’ll have to be sure to get it this weekend.

What do I have to be stressed about? Work, of course, and life, and everything. Ugh. I’m exhausted just thinking about it all. I just want these certification exams to be over, I don’t want to go to Texas in July, I don’t consciously know how I feel about my mom getting remarried, my car sounds like it’s about to die, I still haven’t told my dad about me and my … persuasion, my room is never tidy because I don’t have enough places to put everything, and to top it off, Meg and I hit another wall last night. This one was a doozy. I don’t want to go into it, but let’s just say it was an ideological conflict from which I can’t actually see a resolution. We’re both extremely set in our beliefs.

Man, I feel awful. Bed is screaming my name, as is Tylenol for this goddamned head/ear/jaw-ache. I just want to crawl into a hole and not see anyone. Or maybe watch some cheesy romantic comedy.