I remember one time when Emmy was in 3rd or 4th grade, she got off the school bus and started crying. We weren't sure what it was about but it must have happened before because I remember talking with her and explaining to her about being a girl and hormones making us think and feel things differently sometimes. That explanation worked really well for a few years. There was also the time when we were on a family vacation and she became irrationally upset about not being able to find a particular souvenier. She was crying and her dad tried to talk to her but it just made the situation worse. She was wailing and saying he should just "spank" her because she was just bad. We have never spanked our children. She eventually calmed down and yes, we eventually did find the souvenier.
A more concerning incident happened when she was about 11. She was in the bathroom and I went in to check on her as she had been in there for awhile. She had a magazine opened up to a page that had one of those little knick knack dogs that you had to mail order. She said that she really wanted it but she knew I wouldn't get it for her because it was just junk. This just came out of nowhere and she was nearly inconsolable. I later ordered the dog and gave it to her for Christmas. She had no memory of ever wanting the dog.
When Emmy was 12 I went in her room one day and found her looking at a photo album from when she was a baby. She was crying, looking at the pictures, saying that she knows she used to be happy and can't figure out why she can't be happy now. We again spent time talking about changes and how this was all a normal part of growing up.
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