Still Struggling

Yesterday I picked Daughter up at her program for an appointment with Therapist at 4:00. When she finished, we went to a fast food restaurant for supper and then came straight to the church for Bible Study. It was about 8:30 when we got home. She did well until she hit the car after Bible study, and the meltdowns began. I think the day was too long and too much for her. She is doing much better, but still can't handle a very long day. She was away from home for almost 14 hours yesterday.

In other news, I tripped over an uneven spot in the sidewalk as I was finishing my morning walk. I hit my knee and hands hard. I don't think I did any major damage, but I'm sitting with my leg elevated and ice on my knee. I suspect I will be very stiff and sore tomorrow morning. I may have to skip the walk for a day or two. As Administrative Assistant pointed out, at least I have tomorrow off to recover....

Calmer

Daughter was definitely calmer yesterday. I hope that means she will respond quickly to a reduction in her anti-depressant. She was very cooperative when we served the meal at the shelter. I had her start dishing up fruit before we started serving the people. She moves slowly, so she was far enough ahead when we started serving that she never felt overwhelmed and slowed down.
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We overslept this morning, but she was dressed and out for the bu in less than 15 minutes-- with breakfast, insulin, pills, and lunch (I even remembered to give her insulin information). The fact that she was able to move so quickly and be so cooperative is also an encouraging sign.
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I'm going to go out for a walk and then drive to the church. Part of taking better care of myself is not spending as many hours at the church-- I had been getting to the church at 7:00 most mornings. On Mondays, when I typically have evening meetings, it made for a very long day....

Explanations

Daughter was dry again this morning, and ready on time to go out the door. She had wet the bed almost every night for r months. I caught flack from others who insisted she must have a medical problem, but I was sure there was an emotional cause, and that she'd stop when she was ready. There were times when I doubted myself, but for the most part I remained strong in that belief. On the way to the church, she was talking about how happy she is about how well she's been doing. She talked about the money we're saving on laundry costs since she stopped wetting the bed. I asked her if she knew what made the difference. She talked about a number of things, but some of her more significant comments included:

"I always knew I could do it, but I kept telling myself I couldn't."

"People had faith."

"I decided if other people weren't giving up on me, I shouldn't give up on myself."

How many of our kids give up on themselves? How many times do parents/the system/whatever give up on kids? Food for thought on a Monday morning.