Peyton Place

Daughter was obviously anxious yesterday evening. She would go do a task, and then come sit in the chair in my study so she could be near me. She asked what I was going to be doing today, and then asked if she could stay home and help me. I'm not sure how she thinks she can help with a sermon and a funeral, but she wanted to stay home. She hates going to funerals, and I warned her she'd have to go with me if she stayed home. She said that was okay. I knew she was worried about Dad, and I attributed her desire to stay home to anxiety over his health.

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I put her off several times, saying we'd talk about it later, because she often talks about staying home and then changes her mind. At bedtime, she was still insistent. I asked her how much of this was about being anxious and wanting to be near me. "All of it. There's something I haven't told you that happened at the workshop today."

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It seems that D is upset because his wife, B, is paying a great deal of attention to Flasher, who is a former boyfriend. He informed Daughter if she didn't keep B away from Flasher, she'd have hell to pay from him. She's terrified. I asked her if she reported this to anyone. He told her she couldn't tell anyone about what he'd said. I reminded her that she isn't responsible for B and can't control what she does.

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I'm going to call Case Manager today. Daughter is home, and I'm going to give her lots of work to do today. She's already showing that she'd rather sit in the study beside me and sleep that get up and do some work that takes her away from me. I think it's going to be a very long day.

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The workshop is a regular Peyton Place. They don't help matters any by failing to provide structured activity during down time. Therapist and I have both explained to them repeatedly that Daughter needs structure, and that they need to give her things to do, even if it is just having her work on a puzzle book for 30 minutes. They don't follow through, and when the clients are left to fend for themselves, it is a breeding ground for all sorts of soap opera style intrigue.