I think it actually worked.
I finally became thoroughly tired of the habit of it - as my sister put it, "I don't even think about looking at it anymore - it's like scratching my butt. I just do it." Exactly, although I like to equate it more to smoking: when people ask why you quit Facebook, no one wants to hear that you quit because checking Facebook had become just as automatic as scratching your butt. (Know Your Audience 101)
And now, an update: Everyone's good right now at my house. Several people are getting over a nasty respiratory thing that Roz brought home. Bella caught it last Friday-ish and on Saturday went to LDS Prom feeling a bit under the weather and came home with a sore throat. By Sunday her ear was gunked up beyond all recognition (GUBAR) and she missed church and three days of school - the last one because it was her birthday.
Brennan is setting up an Etsy-type online shop for necklaces he's making and selling. I'm so happy that he's feeling good and motivated. He was one of the unlucky virus-catchers, but seems to be doing better.
Bella turned 18 this week and I am of course happy about the fact that she was born and lived this long, but MAN it is killing me that she is 18. I can't think about it too much or I'll cry.
Harrison is doing fine and growing like, seriously, this monstrous backyard weed that eats everything. Audrey II, more like. Some mornings I will look up at him and it seems like I'm looking up higher than I did the day before. Naughty kid.
Carter is great, still kind of finding his way in this new world of middle school, but loving soccer, and just being his funny self. He and Roz like to play out back, shooting arrows and his BB gun and jumping on the trampoline (not at the same time).
Rosalind is still our dolly. Just cute and funny and a little sassy but just a cute kid. She loves school and sometimes cries if she has to miss a day for being sick. She and her friend Emma have hit a good balance (or seem to) of who's the boss, when, for what, and why. Every once in a while they'll have a tiff, but it's much less frequent now.
Brian and I are doing marvelously. In February we celebrated 22 years of wedded bliss, but were a bit bugged to find that 22nd Anniversary doesn't have some cool traditional gift designation like emeralds or diamonds or jack crap. I guess the traditional gift list-making people figured that if you make it that far, it's only three more years till 25 and you're big kids now, you can wait that long. WHATEVER.