My Flipping Smarty Pants Daughter

We live in Alaska and have for the past 6 years. Shortly after moving up here, I was diagnosed with SAD or seasonal affective disorder. The acronym for it is quite apt as having it basically means that the lack of sunlight in the winter up here causes you to be really sad. I've even joked with my husband on occasion that when the first snow falls in October, he can just commence to putting me into a medically induced coma until April. I really do not like winters up here.

Now, knowing that I have the winter blues hasn't necessarily meant that I've noticed other people's problems during this time. I guess we all get a little selfish and self absorbed when we're not feeling completely content. However, one thing that I have noticed over the past four years since I've started home schooling my kids is that my son seems to start every year off with a bang. The first quarter has always been a good one for him and he seems to learn so much. This year was probably his best first quarter of all.

But just like every other year, this past week or two, I've noticed that he's kind of plateaued and may even be going down hill a bit. For the first time this year, however, I have someone else to notice whats's going on. He has a reading tutor at the local school here. So I was talking to her about his progress and how he seems to do this every single year because she's noticed a drop as well. She mentioned that while she's no doctor, there could be a chance since this happens every year at the same time, that he might have SAD. And suggested that it might be worth trying to see if a happy light would help. Oh my gosh! How did I not put two and two together all these years?

I've never gotten a happy light for myself. I've basically just managed my own symptoms with vitamin supplements. I've wanted a happy light but I've felt that it was too much to spend on myself. Any one with kids will know what I'm talking about. But now that it's my son that may be having the issue, well, that's another thing entirely. So as soon as I could, I made a trip to Sam's Club and I picked one up. Now, we're finally getting to my smarty pants daughter.

I told my son after getting the light that I was getting it for him and that it might make him feel better. He was pretty excited for me to set it up so last night, I did just that. I set it up and placed it on the table (to basically blind us) during dinner.

The dinner conversation, obviously, was all about the light and SAD and phototherapy. My daughter listened for a bit and then piped up and said, "I really don't like you getting a happy light for J."

Flabbergasted, I asked her why on earth not if there was a possibility it could help him to which she replied, "Because it's a trick. You think the light will make you happy and since you think that, it makes you happy. I do the same thing with sugar. I know that sugar doesn't make me happy but I've tricked my brain into thinking that it does so whenever I get sad, I have a little sugar and I'm happy."

Then she proceeds to pour even more salt into the wound by singing, "It's a placebo," over and over and over again.

I blame her cynicism on her dad. When I relayed our conversation to him, he agreed with her. Scientific studies be damned. Both these two have an idea in their heads and that's it. I don't care. The light will be on for a while each day when we're doing school and we'll see if there are any noticeable results in the boy's performance in school. And if there is, then the boy and I will have the last laugh.