A view from the couch

What can you accomplish while sitting on a couch nearly all day keeping the disregulated child slightly more regulated? Quite a bit it turns out. You can...
  • Direct various children to feed and turn out the horses so that they [the horses] are cared for.
  • Do an entire math lesson. This is helped because the other children sense that today is possibly going to be a rough day, so they shine their halos up and complete their math before you even make it downstairs.
  • Rearrange you school lessons for the week because you realized that you could have everyone watch the Jason and the Argonauts movie today and do something else on Friday.
  • Be a very popular mother because you told everyone that their school work was a movie.
  • Make your Covid vaccine appointment because you saw you received an appointment invitation as you were idly scrolling through your inbox. Again.
  • Read the disregulated child some books.
  • Watch several YouTube videos about spinning techniques that you never seem to get a chance to otherwise.
  • Direct various children to go out to the barn again and throw more hay to the horses.
  • Read your teatime book.
  • Message your good friend and commiserate because she is not having a good day, either.
I did get off the couch for some short moments. I convinced R. that sitting on my bed all tucked in and listening to music was a fun thing so I could manage a quick shower and get dressed. By the end of the day, even R. seemed done with the couch and asked if she could color. It was a question I leaped on. So she colored and I worked at some spinning for a while. And I even got outside once because R. was willing to help me go feed the horses. 

So that was my day. I did nothing but sit and I am exhausted. I have no idea if she is in a better place now or not or whether I'm in for more of the same tomorrow. I do know that my theory of forced normalcy is is looking better and better. This morning, before the couch, there was a lot of processing and talking happening. The level of conversation surprised me. And then, all of a sudden, it was as if it was all too much, and the behavior which leads to psychogenic seizures kicked in. This why we were on the couch. With support... a fairly constant reminding of safety and love and modelling ways to keep calm... we can head off having actual seizures happen. 

I keep reminding myself, This is a season, This is a season, This is a season...

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