ouf! as they say in French, a rough day
A short note to the many friends who visit here, new and old, some close and dear, others as yet unmet except online!
We have a very handicapped - mentally and physically - child, who is with us for two weeks non-stop, whereas she usually alternates for shorter periods between her boarding school and home. This is lovely for all of us, for the most part, the extra time, but today was one of those days when (with great cheerfulness on Tara's part) many small things fell apart and the mess they created became a much bigger thing. On the (fortunately) somewhat rare days like this we all just endure. Tara is hyperactive today to an extent most people would find daunting. So do we :-). Tara herself seems a little puzzled by it. She has had a fit of the giggles that has lasted about 10 hours, and it has involved eating books, unfolding all the folded laundry and slightly less lugubrious incidents.
Living with a child like our daughter is something that is not easily explained, except by recounting incidents once you can back off from them enough to have a sense of humor. Most of the time I don't think there is much point, for the family or the world at large, in trying to explain what daily life is like. Now and again, I have to mention it so people who would like (and deserve) my attention understand why I'm a little slow in giving it.
I am often asked how on earth we manage. Parents love their children, and do what they can: the answer is that simple. I am, frankly, far more impressed by people like the man I interviewed yesterday (I will provide the link tomorrrow) who, with his wife, has adopted two children with problems, eyes wide open. To know that you are taking home a four-year-old who has spent his entire life in a bed in Roumania, with his tongue burned by cigarettes and his ears broken - well, that is not parental love at first, that is humanity at its most generous.
posted by whistlestop caboose | 10:52 PM
2 Comments:
There is no easy way to comment on your daughter which is why I haven't when you mentioned it on other occasions. That still holds true.
The best one can do is wish you and your family well and hope that help is available when you need it and that you are willing to ask for it.
Christopher, that's very kind of you. Most people struggle to find something to say, and it's always good to hear them say just that! We are lucky in that we live in a part of the world where good help is available and affordable. We are also lucky to have a daughter who is basically a happy child despite all her problems. I will post a photo of her eating pie and you'll see what I mean! So life has it rough moments here, but I can live with them as long as I know other people understand that I will give them time a little later when I hit those patches :-).
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