Monday, February 27, 2012

Jedi mind tricks vs. the flu

I'm sick of being sick. Today is the first day in about 10 that I have not woken up with a headache. My body only hurt for the first few days. On Thursday my sinuses/face/head were a study in congestion. In short, my family has put up with a very cranky, very tired, very impatient me and I am grateful they didn't run away. Today I am still a little congested, but I feel worlds better. A week ago I thought I could use Jedi mind tricks and just act fine and maybe I'd feel fine. That lasted a couple hours and then I decided that Jedis were stupid stupid stupid and Princess Leia never had to battle the flu. Because that's what I realized this was. The upside is that since I did get the flu mist last fall, I think it was a muted case. I think. That might be a Jedi mind trick again. All I know is that last year when I got the flu, I could barely get out of bed for about 4 days. This time it was 2. Today is a new day and a new me and I'm thrilled that I feel like doing something other than practice the fetal position.

Just because the contractor, who was supposed to be here at 8 am so we spent the early hours of the morning clearing off our kitchen counters and anything touching the wood so he could refinish the floors, called to say he wouldn't be here until 11:30, thus totally throwing off my day, doesn't mean this day isn't awesome. I was initially annoyed and Joel was perplexed as to why I even thought a contractor might be on-time. Oh, I don't know - it's MONDAY. At 8 AM. And you're already behind? Deep cleansing breaths. I'm healthy, so I've got all the time in the world.

Our floors. Yep, they're getting refinished. This is great because I love home improvement, even more so when it's done by a professional (however unprofessional his timing may seem). I don't always love paying for it, but the age of the home, coupled with my children's shenanigans, the impending arrival of a furry friend, and the fact that I was led astray by some well-meaning Home Depot employee a couple years ago which led me to complete an unprofessional job on my floors, mean it's time for an overhaul. So, provided the contractor shows up at some point, we will be on our way to "like new" wood floors. Yay.

The other thing weighing heavily on my (congested) mind right now is Ainsleigh. Wednesday will be our parent/teacher conference and I'm getting nervous. We've had some really great days lately, where she has gotten up, dressed, ready for the day, and sat down to practice the piano all by herself (yay!). But then there are days like yesterday morning that just...it's not good. I've tried asking her to help me think of ways to keep her on task and moving forward, but we're drawing blanks. She suggested a clock in the bathroom, but we already have a timer. And a clock in her bedroom isn't keeping her from laying there in her bathrobe, dripping wet and playing with Barbies, instead of getting the underwear she went in for. After a couple bad days, I find myself wondering if this is normal behavior, or if I'm denying her confidence and peace with my determination to not medicate. I worry that she is getting frustrated with herself for reasons that can be avoided. Do all kids cry that they don't know why they can't get stuff done? I'm not anti-medication, I just wanted to make sure I'm doing everything I can. I'm afraid I can't do enough by myself.

We may be facing some hard conversations and decisions in the days and weeks ahead. Wednesday will be a big indicator. So I'm nervous. But, honestly, now that I'm over this flu, I feel much more able to take these battles head-on. Maybe I've got more Jedi than I'm giving myself credit for.

1 comments:

Marci said...

My son struggles as well with not getting distracted and with staying on task. We've done timers, noise canceling headphones with music, reward, punishments, following his every move and reminding him, etc.. We have seen more success with some medication than without but it's expensive to get on a monthly basis. I'll be interested to know if you find anything that works; we're tired of the tears.