work

Most of the things that fill my head daily are issues that I can not put in my blog. I check three other adoptive mama blogs daily, and feel a distant sense of community that way, plus I learn alot about parenting high-needs kids. Then I have to stay silent. I am sure these issues are common among the other families I read about. I still feel alone. I do have a solid support network in the behavioral health system here. That can be hard to come by. My older son's new case manager rocks! I had a huge, that-changes-everything event this morning with my son, and I know that Jeff will call me as soon as he turns his phone on and gets my messages. I am confident that we'll have a solid plan in place for how to help my son with the problem when he gets home. My younger son is stuck between being a sweet little kid and a teenager, and has the weight of the world on his shoulders sometimes. The breaks that he gets from school (aka 2-3 day out-of-school suspensions) give me a chance to reset his ways of thinking, and fill him with a sense of security and trust. Everyone needs a reset button. I have found his. My little (but growing!) girls have big watchful eyes, and are learning the wrong ways to express their independence. I have not found their reset buttons yet. All I've got on my side are consequences, and the girls do not yet take accountability for their actions. They tend to shut down or get mad at me for consequencing them. I've got my work cut out for me.