The July 4th Holiday weekend was a busy one. Thursday night we left Colin at home to go to a party at a family friend's house. Saturday and Sunday was spent with family that was visiting from out-of-town. Colin had originally said " No Thanks." to a Saturday night family dinner at his paternal Aunt's house but to my surprise ended up going. We made a stop at my sister's house for a quick visit beforehand.
Colin seems a bit more relaxed around me. The only bad behavior in front of others was a "Sshush" directed at me, that was noticed by my sister. She also saw where he seemed to catch himself, perhaps realizing that there was an audience and stopped. This is a remarkable improvement since the month before.
Colin also did well at his other aunt's house. Other than being a bit standoffish at first, which if you did not know better could be considered normal teen behavior, Colin was able to interact normally with his cousins, adult relatives and his dog cousins. As per our agreement, I avoided conversation with my son. As a result, we had a successful family visit.
Settling Into a Routine
It seems like Colin and his puppy, Sumter, have been home for quite a while. It's hard to believe that it has just been one month. We have settled into a routine, albeit not an ideal one. Colin stays up late, and has reported going to bed as late as 5:00 a.m. He takes the night shift with puppy who sleeps in his room. While I am glad not to have to make any midnight - 3:00 a.m. potty-runs, I am concerned about what will happen during the school year.
Colin has been sleeping in as late as 3:00 p.m. My eldest at first would wake Colin up at 12:00 noon to feed the dog. Now eldest has stepped in to feed and help with potty breaks. Sumter is a great team-building tool. For now we are letting Colin sleep late as we know this is so important to his well-being.
Our son is also holding on to his "No Talking" rule for my husband and I, but will sometimes allow some small bits of conversation. I am finding humor on the frequent occasions where he will ask a question or make small talk and then shush me when I respond. I will sometimes respond in kind. I have noticed a smile breakout for a few brief seconds in the middle of s "Shut-Up" match. Neither the match or the grin last for long.
Just long enough to see that we have come a long way.
Mites, Surgery and the Cone of Shame
Sumter has had a couple of minor set-backs. After having to have his hematoma drained twice, we opted for surgery. This entails the vet stitching the ear from front to back to create scar tissue to prevent further pockets of fluid that will eventually harden and misshapen the ears. We also discovered patches of fur-loss around the eyes which was caused by mites called Demonex.
I now have to give four different medications, twice a day, and poor Sumter has to wear "The Cone of Shame". We also now have to wait a few more weeks until he can play with other dogs. I'm not sure how we will handle this.
I am taking things day by day. If I don't look too far ahead, I can breathe a little easier knowing we are doing better that expected a few short weeks ago. I am trying to live in the moment and not ask too many questions.We still don't know what will happen in the fall when it is time to go back to school. Where will Colin go to High School? Can we get on a better schedule? Will we continue to make progress? I am pushing these queries to the back of my mind. It is still Summer and ....
We are still a "work-in-progress"!
You are doing an impressive job of simply taking each moment as it comes. I have to think that your ability to continue doing this is improving your situation day by day.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Terri. I've had to learn to live in the moment. I've also learned to be grateful for small victories and to practice mindfulness. I appreciate you keeping up and cheering me on.
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