Note to self: You're a monster.

Mo now recognizes "that pitch near madness" and he doesn't want to live there.

Sensible child.

The known unthought.

That is one heck of a descriptive phrase. I'm going to ponder that for a bit.

I know my responses are a bit harsh but luckily I haven't been entangled with many situations and my experience is limited.

I have a friend who lost her kids and completely revamped her life to get them back. I met her on the upswing and she is doing so incredibly well now. I know that there are parents who DO care. Intellectually I know it. Emotionally I can't quite get there.

I'm glad to know that Mo's shut down episodes were nothing to get agitated about. We were a little freaked out by them but his recovery seemed quick enough that we didn't panic.

I do think Mr. B has a new strategy to deal with Mo when he seems to "passively refuse to obey". For that alone I'm thankful for the article!

Perhaps he is indeed sensible! That is something I would LOVE to see him express more often.

And Mr. B too..... you know.... with the sensible thing....

The next page I dog-eared was page 31 -- the discussion of temper tantrums.

Would unprovoked violent outbursts be an example of the "regressed" tantrum?

We've really moved past the unprovoked violent episodes although Mo can occassionally be a nasty little numbskull. Typically that only happens when he's hungry, tired or bored.

I do have more but today is so scattershot - trying to get things normal again after our trip. I'll be back to post more once I get things settled down a bit.

Big ol' Book Mark.

Right now BD in Doonesbury is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/

This sounds similar.

Okay... sorry... but check this out..... is this not the most amazing expression?..... I so completely love Walt Disney. (Have I ever mentioned that I have a photo of him on the wall here in my office?)



Another, slight digression....

There was a wonderful article about a pair of foster parents in today's paper. These people blow my mind. They are made from some amazing stuff. I suggest everyone read it even if they do have to register....

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/114049414367670.xml&coll=7

Okay.

Now I'll get back on track....

Great expression. What was he looking at?

Another thing that I found very interesting in the paper, that I wish someone had warned me about was the "honeymoon" period!

This was so true for us and lulled us into a false sense of security that we were blindsided by what followed. Truly, this is an important thing to know.

Mo had always loved being here. He used to cry when his parents picked him up. When I would pick him up from their house he always clinged to me. There was no doubt that he loved me.

Though his move in here was unsetteling for me, he seemed very, very happy to stay. I was freaking about work and .... other things.... which I tried to hide.... and he was just all ajoy.

Thankfully I had spent years building a great staff and they quickly saw how disoriented I was and they took over. I would have never made it without them.

Just before he moved in is when the **** hit the fan. His dad "kidnapped" him and hid him from everyone. After he was found, he saw his parents get in violent arguments. Then his dad ran out of patience and called us to come get him.

We, Mo and me and Mr. B, did have a lovely honeymoon despite the uncertainty. His parents were visiting him often and he had contact with many of the people he had always known and he got to stay here -- he was happy.

When the visits simmered down is when Mo started getting nutty. Clearly he sensed that things were changing and he wasn't sure what to make of it.

Weird things started to happen.

"Honeymoon" is something people need to know about.

Hi soz! He was watching the parade at Disneyland and I was watching him. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He was in awe.

The bit about "indiscriminate attachments" is another thing I could have really used because it was Mo's familiarity with strangers that was a big turning point in my seeking answers to what was going on.

His behavior scared the living daylights out of me.

Not only would he be very affectionate towards people but they were very often quite charmed by his behavior. I suppose they thought it was directed soley at them -- not knowing that he would cuddle and kiss the next "mommy" that happened by.

This behavior has really calmed down and he seems to be developing a bit, but only a bit, of suspicion about strangers.

He can be clingy to the point of suffocation.

This is something that I think will continue to improve just out of habit but that doesn't stop me from being totally paranoid that someone will lead him off by the hand.

Good sign that hat is changing, the iniscriminate bit, I mean.



Can I really suggest getting the Hughes book I mentioned?


It is available second hand via Amazon......Here

I am going to a four day workshop of his next month, I will feed back any gems.