At least there is bad habit Goldilocks is not interested in.

We are still under siege with Goldilocks and his meds not working well. This afternoon he was behaving better than he has in weeks. So when he asked if he could walk to the park half a block away, I said "yes." We can see the park from our front window. We watched him, without his knowing for his own safety. All went well for about half a hour. Then we saw a large group of teens who didn't look like the type we would let GL hang out with—without supervision. We just watched for a while, then they seemed to get a little rowdy. So I asked Brother Bear to walk over to GL and ask him to come home. When GL got home I asked him what those kids were doing over there. He said "They were drinking Dr.WOW and smoking cigarettes. One asked me if I wanted a cigarette." I said "What did you say?" (I was thinking the worst for a second)then he replied "Heck no! Those things will kill ya!"

Jump on the Bandwagon

I don't like to take up too many new causes or crusades, but I'm taking up this one: Cursive. I'm against it.

I'm sure some of you are aghast, and think you have solid reasons teaching children to write in cursive is necessary. I've thought of them. They don't hold water. I searched the Web for discussions of the controversy, looking for more reasons. I've made a list of 19 reasons people give for learning cursive, and written rebuttals for all of them. I had already decided not to make my kids learn to write cursive, but I was planning to make them learn to read it, just in case. I'm thinking of dropping the reading of cursive, too.

Just for fun, let's see how many of the reasons people gave for learning cursive you can guess. Some are easy, some are far-fetched, but mostly they repeated the same handful again and again as I searched to see if I'd got them all. You get 10,000 bonus points if you come up with one I missed. That and a buck ninety-five will buy you a small cup of coffee some places.

Oh, and feel free to forward this to people who might enjoy it. If you post it in a public forum, send me a link, so I can read the responses.

Under Siege

Camp was good. GL worked hard, had fun, and accomplished things he'd never tried before. Mama Bear and Brother Bear got to relax and have fun. I had some much-needed quiet, even if I didn't feel up to much. MB will fill in the details when she is up to it.

Since camp, we have been under siege. We expect some difficulty when GL has a major disruption of his routine, and then has to adapt to everyday life again, but each day since camp has been worse. His meds weren't working all that well before camp, so his doctor changed dosages, and now they seem to have stopped working entirely.

When he starts a new med, we usually see some improvement in the first week, and more improvement once we find the right dose. Whenever he has a growth spurt, we have to adjust his dose again. At some point, each med will abruptly stop working at any dose, and we have to switch. A new med typically works for six to eighteen months, with twelve months being about average. He has been on this med for two years. It's been very good most of that time, and I hate to switch until we have to, because what do we do when we run out of meds to try? But this is not working. He has beaten up or attempted to beat up every family member every day for a week. He is usually screaming about not being allowed to do things that are impossible, or don't even make sense. We're calling the doctor in the morning.

Sick on Vacation

Papa Bear is sick. He was really looking forward to spending time alone while the family is at special needs camp. He will get to be alone, but he has a bad head cold and cannot breathe well. It seems that it happens to our family a lot at vacation time, that someone it sick or the car breaks down. Both have happened to us this week. It makes me think of a quote from Garrison Kellor.

Success makes you unhappy,you always get sick on vacation, you get a heart attack the first week after you retire, spring time is hard to bear,sunshine is a depressant, a big raise will ruin your marriage,and love will only break your heart. You can image otherwise if you want to but you know it’s true. It’s been our experience up here in the North.
Garrison Kellor

Adversity- a lesson in trusting God

The cubs and I are leaving for vacation today. It has not gone as planned, our car broke down yesterday afternoon. It won’t shift out of first gear. The transmission is under warranty, so we should be able to get it fixed on Monday. We only have one car, so I was thinking that our prepaid nonrefundable vacation to special needs camp was gone. I called sister P. (my best friend of over 20 years and the closest thing I have to a sibling) to... well honestly, to complain and she reminded me of two things. First, is I belong to God, He will supply all of our needs. If we as a family need this vacation to refuel and get closer to God. He will make sure we get it. Second, is that I am a member of a church that will help take care of us. “call your Pastor” sister P. said. So long story short I called Papa Rooster and our church is paying for a rental car for the cubs and me to use this week. This was far more than I expected. I don’t like to ask for help, I feel demanding, and undeserving. God is often bringing me to realize that I can trust Him.

Lord, I believe,please help my unbelief. Thank you for supplying all our needs and thank you for giving us such a wonderful church.

Staycation

Mama Bear, Brother Bear, and Goldilocks are going to camp next week. I'm staying home alone and soaking in the quiet. That's my ideal vacation!