Looked at Clouds

Primera's behavior has been, as I've noted in this space, pretty painful lately. Fresh, oppositional. Like me, she is capable of spreading a cloud of poison gas when she is in a bad mood. Meeting with the Autism Consultant today: she confirms that Primera can be precious unpleasant, even though some of it seems to be flying under the radar (psychologist and guidance counselor report no complaints; consultant says teachers tend to defer to the aide when Herself starts to act up--sort of like the parental "You handle this one"). Says other kids tend to back off when she gets agitated. She imitated Primera's body language, which is dramatic, body turned away, back toward interlocutor, face turned away, etc. It's like adolescence on steroids. And Primera is genius with provocative comments. What a great use of all those years of speech therapy.

The consultant had a Temple Grandin vibe and one of the strongest handshakes I've felt in awhile, as in my engagement ring dug into my fingers. She also had one of those patchwork Christmas-type vests, so I was able to relate to her really well.

Clothing: I have an interview this week, so felt justified in buying a suit, since I don't have one. I bought two and one's going back, but I'm not sure which one. One seems more elegant. The other is better material and more stylish but doesn't fit me as well. But it was a relief to walk into Loehmann's and find suits that were half the prices I was seeing at the mall.