I came home from the weekend visit with my sister to a wonderful explosion of violet on my Silver leaf shrubs. A delightful bonus from the unexpected bounty of July rainfall has been the lush green lawn and rich abundance of colorful blooms in my yard and my container gardens. Somehow, I expect we will suffer through a hot, dry August, as payment for the moist and relatively cool July. I'm up early these days and out to hand water the containers hoping to extend the colorful panorama.
Speaking of the weekend visit with my sister.... I had a wonderful couple of days sandwiched between 10 hours in the car with our struggling 9 year old. Five hours over and five hours back with his mouth running NON STOP!! When I say non stop, I mean literally non stop. He whined and cried and begged to stop at every siting of a Golden Arch. He couldn't sleep or do anything but run his mouth. There was no seat in the car that he could get comfortable in. I played musical chairs with him countless times.
Sam started Day Treatment at Children's Hospital in Dallas several days before he left for the weekend trip to Trish's dad and my sister. My sister picks me up at my ex-husband's home and takes me 45 miles away to her home. It's a convenient, brief get-away for my daughter and me. She has time with Dad and I have time with my sister. I also get a bit of a reprieve from Trish and the boys.
Sam has been really struggling this Summer. Actually, he's been struggling most of this past year. His Anxiety disorder has been competing with his ADHD and it's not been pretty! Regulating his meds has been a nightmare!! The aggression had gotten so violent that Day Treatment was the only viable option. School starts in a couple of weeks so there's not much time to spare in getting him squared away to be able to function in school.
Of course, nothing, it seems has been simple this Summer. My daughter is still looking for a job as well as dealing with the Sam issue. Several days before we were to take off for the trip she got a horrible tooth infection that almost resulted in a hospital stay to battle it. She was really miserable with pain and fever. Up until after her visit to the oral surgeon a couple of hours before we left it was iffy as to whether she would be well enough to go.
THEN, to top off the complications, as we were dropping off the 4 furkids at the vet for boarding, our Beagle had a seizure. Just inside the door. Total chaos! My daughter was panicking while Connor and I were herding the other 3 dogs into a separate room to get us away from Smokey. It's a wonder we ever left town, at that point. The vet reassured us that Smokey would be fine so we headed out to pick up Sam at Day Treatment and get on the road.
And so began the ill-fated getaway! I had a great time with my sister; Trish was pretty miserable at her dad's with Sam, her mouth and her concern for Smokey. The trip home was an utter nightmare! Trish was in pain, worried about the dog, exhausted and ready to dump us all on the side of the road. Actually, it was my car, so dumping me wasn't an option. :) Sam was worse than on the ride over. Added to the mouth were tics and involuntary movements of his hands and legs.
Smokey is fine and temporarily on Phenobarb. for the seizures. They were probably a reaction to the stress of being boarded and we were cautioned that he might be better off with a dog sitter next trip. Oh joy! The other 3 pups came home with no signs of PTSD. My two were freshly groomed. They are Shelties and need bathes after being boarded for a few days.
Sam is back in Day Treatment and the new meds he was on are now gone as he had horrible reactions to both! Back to the drawing board on that front. *Sigh* Trish had her final trip to the oral surgeon this morning and found out the infection that nearly did her in was a nasty Staph Infection! Glad she got that nipped before it went out of control!
I'm hobbling around in the final days of my 'boot'. I'm allowed to be out of it for several hours a day as I wean myself off it. Any significant pain and I'm back in it for the rest of the day. When I go back to the doc on the 21 I hope to be out of it totally. That's the game plan, anyway.
Soooooooooooooooo..... it's been a long and rather difficult Summer around here. I say "long", but it also seems like it's been too fleeting now that school is on the horizon. There are going to be some significant transitions when it comes to both boys on the school front. Connor enters middle school and we anticipate the likelihood of initial issues. Hopefully, not, and, if so, short-lived. Sam is due to be given more tests and placed where they think he will do best. Last year was a nightmare with him and the anxiety/ADHD issues. If the meds get straightened out the test results should help put him on a successful path for 4th grade.
I'm hoping for the abundance of sub jobs I was blessed with last school year. Two long-term subs positions in Special Education Depts. kept me busy most of the year.
Thus, August begins on a hopeful note. Let's hope the job horizon is fruitful for both my daughter and myself. I'm praying that Sam will get straightened out and on firmer footing for the coming school term. Connor is stable. I pray that he stays that way and surprises us with a rather smooth transition into the realm of middle school.
