Try having him soak it in epsom salts.

Wow. I just went *off* on a high school mate (who was in drama with me and was one of the few white guys in my high school).

He posted this some stupid ass Facebook status and followed it in his comments with this:

As for our freedom, the protections afforded by the US Constitution were probably first violated/ignored by Lincoln during the Civil War. Then FDR during the depression, with the help of the Supreme Court, really got the wheels in motion for the Marxism we're seeing in government today.

Me:

I grew up in Public Housing and am thankful it existed. Social Security is the reason a lot of elderly people have something to eat and money to (barely) pay their rent and heat during winter. We're not anywhere close to "Marxism", Brian, do you even know what that term means? Obama is, if anything, a moderate.

Are you a "libertarian"? I wish so much that when a libertarian got mugged, the police would say, "take care of yourself, it's all on you" and when a libertarian's house caught on fire, the firefighters would let it burn down, because a true libertarian would take care of everything himself.

I know someone who fell out of a swing when she was 5, and suffered a back injury and as an adult has had to struggle to find anyone who'd insure her (she's very healthy now) because of the "pre-existing" condition. And that's okay with you? Do you listen to anything but Glenn Beck and Fox news? Sorry to go off, but I've been watching your incredibly misinfomed status remarks for too many months now and I am pissed off that you're spreading such vomit.

And just in case you just assume I'm some Obama-nut who worships at Keith Olbermann's feet and is just being contentious: I get my news from many sources, including The Economist, The National Review, Atlantic, New York Times, WSJ, you name it. I form my own opinions, I don't listen to the hatemongers and just repeat everything they say.

And one more thing? I am in the __% tax bracket (despite the public housing upbringing that you so deride) and I will never, ever complain that my taxes go to help those less fortunate.

msbelle- I am glad to hear things are improving. I don't want to make this all about me, but in some ways I really relate to Mac and how having all these feelings that he doesn't know what to do with sometimes causes actions that he might feel bad about later.

I don't know if this helps at all because I don't think my mother ever solved this problem with me, I just seemed to outgrow it but... I was a horrible child to my mother. I never misbehaved when out of the house, but in the house I could be an irrational screaming kicking crying mess. I hit, kicked, bit, yelled and said really really mean things and called my mother horrible names. And I was so so angry and had so much feeling in me (this would have been from age 7 - 10 or thereabouts, so it wasn't the teenager stuff)-- why, I do not know. And the thing is, the punishment/reward thing did not work for me at all, because I knew that I was stronger mentally and physically than my mother-- that ultimately she couldn't force me to do anything. For some reason, it was very important to me that I had the power and that I was in control. There was a part of me that fet triumphant when I won and my mother gave up. Again, forgive me if this is ground that is well-trodden, but it seems to me that somehow getting Mac to feel that he won't lose you even if he lets you be in power is the important thing. One of the things that helped me was reading Jane Eyre in 4th grade. When I saw Jane in the red room, angry and having a tantrum, I understood that I wasn't the only child who was angry and unhappy and not really well-liked. Probably Jane isn't the appropriate role model for Mac, but maybe there is something he can relate too...

why, I do not know

Didn't your father abandon your family?

Sophia, go see Where the Wild Thing Are. really.

it seems to me that somehow getting Mac to feel that he won't lose you even if he lets you be in power is the important thing.

That is EXACTLY it. He doesn't trust that. It's why I can't just let him stay in his room mad, I have to go to him and offer him the outs. I have to show over and over, I will NOT give up on you and on this family. And I have to hug him and give snuggles especially when I am still mad.

That's the hardest for me, because I do mad really really well, and I excel at petty and sarcastic while mad.

Go Cowboys!

Try having him soak it in epsom salts.

I was just going to suggest this. It's my go-to foot treatment.

Just bring your petty and sarcastic here; we can take it!

Go Cowboys!

You're just being petty and sarcastic now, right??

Go Iggles!!(except Vick because I will loathe you forever)

seriously?!?!? the other thing about me, I hold a grudge. Buddy Ryan! Hatesss him, so will always hate the Eagles.