Ambitious Plans

I picked up Daughter after lunch, telling her it would be an opportunity to earn some money to pay me back.  She came home and sat down and made a very ambitious list that basically involved deep cleaning the entire house, including exterior windows.  I told her I liked the list, and then circled the things I wanted her to do first.  If I hadn't, she'd have started with cleaning the exterior windows, gotten cold, discouraged, and quit.  I can hear her cleaning the bathroom.  She's running water in the bathtub, which means she's cleaning an area she often ignores.  She's also singing.  I like the sounds of that. 

I'm glad that she wants to make amends.  I will have cheap labor for quite some time.  I've also decided that for her birthday I will wrap up the various items she purchased with the money she stole from me and give them back to her.  Will she be happy?  No, but she took the money I would have used to purchase her gift.  I will take her out for a nice meal. 

Oh, and let me explain why I didn't have her arrested/press charges.  I doubt they would have jailed her for this.  Jail would not be good for her.  I have serious doubts about their ability to handle her medical issues.  There would have been multiple triggers for her PTSD.  I don't want to think about the impact it would have had on her mental health.  I still remember one of her psychiatrists saying to me, "Remember, she is very fragile."   What did he mean by that?  In the best of times her grasp on reality is tenuous.  It doesn't take much to push her into psychosis.