Weekly Wisdoms #18
Has the season changed where you are. I am not sure what is happening here in our little corner of South Africa. We are 3/4 of the way through March, which means we are well into Autumn and it is still raining here, which is not “normal”. I won’t lie though I am not complaining because it is considerably cooler which I am loving. Everyone is predicting a cold winter here and I do hope so because last year I think we had ONE cold day the entire winter (or maybe I was just super perimenopausal).
Glimmers
(Glimmers are micro-moments of joy that make us feel happy, hopeful, and safe.)
- Kiara signed a 3 month contract with the agency she has been interning at. She is so excited and we are so proud of her. She is working in the field she studied doing something she loves.
- We walked on Sunday, in the drizzle but it was an easy trail so was fun. We had the best cappuccino’s afterwards!
- Eve and I had a great coffee session on Thursday.
- My green pepper plants are alive with fruit. It makes me so happy.
- Today is a public holiday, I have spent the morning getting the kids school stuff sorted for next week when we start again after our break.
- Emma and I made 20 glass mugs for her little shop. I just did the printing and she put them all on herself.
- I made a delicious moussaka for dinner last night. It is the perfect comfort meal.
- I had a great coffee date with a friend whose opinion I really value. We received some feedback from Emma’s therapist and I needed some unbiased input. It was an invaluable chat.
- Eve and I walked on Saturday, it was busy but I am glad we made the effort to go. It meant I managed 15km of walking last week!
My Weekly Wisdom..
I have been in two minds about sharing this because I am still trying to wrap my head around it but for record purposes I am going to share. If you have been following my HarassedMom journey you will know we have had a challenging time with Emma – since the day she was born. When you have your 4th kid, you kinda think you have parenting down – well she proved me wrong.
She has been in therapy for a few months now, it started with her dealing with Cameron’s death but that trauma has triggered so many other things. She has an amazing therapist who has been amazing with her. She recently asked if she could do an IQ test with Emma, not really to see if she was smart but rather to see how she learns to help us with school. The results were what we expected, she is above average. But it also highlighted an area we need to work on and which is the cause of a lot of our frustration. She struggles to process new information which leads to her losing focus and concentration – she basically has a level of ADHD. After a very in depth discussion with her therapist about solutions, she mentioned the possibility of meds. I just started crying.
It was a mix of relief – knowing that there was a reason for our frustrations and sadness – knowing that this is something Emma will probably have to deal with her whole life. After lengthy discussions with David, David’s aunt (who has walked this road), Davids cousin (who is walking this road) and friends we have decided to try the meds and see if it helps.
Right now Emma is frustrated. David and I are frustrated. We have tried so many things to navigate this but nothing really helps. Something has to change. We are fortunate to have a wonderful therapist who will walk this road with us all and help us manage any side effects and monitor her to see if it is actually helping.
It is always hard when your child has to deal with something like this. You want their lives to be as “easy” as they can be. Kiara went through something similar but without the meds but it was tough for her. She has learnt to navigate her challenges and walk alongside them but as her mother, I still wish she didn’t have to do that at all.
Picture of the Week
Wise Words of the Week
“When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.” — Nora Ephron
Words of the Week
I am joining up with the Word of the Week link party this week so my word for the week would have to be PROGRESS. It was a busy week.
Until next week!
It is starting to get warmer here, we’ve just moved into spring.
Well done and congratulations to Kiara.
What lovely photos!
It sounds like Emma’s therapy is helping you figure things out with her. It must have been quite a shock during the chat. Sending love and hugs.
I think I need to get myself a dog after reading those wise words. hehehe
Quite an insightful post! Not that they aren’t always but it’s nice to get more of an insight into the people and families behind the posts. My son who died would have been 32 today. Sometimes I wonder if his death has had an impact on my other son. I know he has gotten much quieter and he says he is fine and doesn’t need therapy but I do sometimes wonder what’s going on in his head. He managed school well and is currently doing his doctorate in Education Psychology. Just saying this to say that sometimes we worry so much about our children and just wish everything would go smoothly for them (a soft life).
Anyway, hope the weather is just what you need for more lovely walks and gardening.
Congratulations to Kiara. How wonderful to be doing something she loves. The weather is starting to warm up here and I’m looking forward to my pepper plants producing like yours. They are mere seedlings on my windowsill at the moment. This is such an honest post. I know it will touch many parent’s hearts. We all want the best and easiest lives for our children. Your support system sounds amazing – professional as well as family. Hats off to you for clocking 15km walking. Hope you have a good week.
Thank you <3
We have spring on the way here. I think progress is a good word, congratulations to Kiara. I love your glimmers as usual and the photos. It is hard to talk about our kids online but it’s also good to let other parents know they are not going through this alone. I’ve have five kids and they all have difficulties. Some from birth a couple acquired (one PTSD, one Covid) We never know what we are getting when we have them but we can only do our best.
And you assume when you have many kids you know what you are doing but you really don’t.
Glad you are enjoying the cooler weather and hope the rain stops soon. We’re moving into spring here and it’s nice to have some warmer weather! That’s great news about Kiara’s contract. I love the printed labels for Emma’s glass mugs. Sorry to hear that Emma has been going through such a tough time. I’m glad she has such a good therapist and I hope that the meds will help her. #WotW
Thank you. It does seem life is insisting on a lot of balance right now – lots of positive but also struggles and challenges.