difficult child's big day!

Andy

Active Member
School was two hours late starting today. Not the best day for this to happen since I had to be on the road by 7:30 and the neighbors I would entrust in helping make sure he caught the bus did not make it home last night (bad roads - another story).

difficult child was excited about this new responsibility of his but I new he was a little anxious when I called home and he was upset about not finding the t.v. control (angry at me as always even though I reminded him that HE was the last to use it).

My appointment was 9:20 and difficult child would get on the bus about 9:45. Meaning I could not call him at 9:30 to make sure he was ready.

Fortunately, the doctor saw me early and I was out of there right at 9:30. I called difficult child and he was ready and waiting for the bus. He was also in a better mood - didn't find the t.v. control but was o.k. about it. He said he may go check on his fort in the cul-de-sac and I said "No" but knew he would disobey and do so anyway. I had to trust he got on the bus. (I am not good at letting go in these situations).

I made sure I was home before the bus came. It didn't come. I started to worry - did he even make it to school? I called the school nurse to see if he came in for 1:00 Ritalin and was told yes. Then where was he? Where was the bus?

I walked to the end of the driveway and saw the neighbor boy getting out of his car. Soon his mom called me. Has the bus gone by yet (her daughter was on it)? No, and I am getting worried! I called the bus company and found there was a minor accident (bus hit a car and was running 1/2 hour late). Funny neighbor didn't see it on her way to get her son or back again. The police had shown up quickly and got the bus on the road again.

difficult child comes in the house with, "So, don't be surprised if the police come looking for me!" I smiled and jokingly replied, "Because YOU caused the accident?" He looks at me and grins, "How did you know about that? No, I didn't cause it, I am a witness." LOL, difficult child sits in the back seat of the bus, no way he would have seen what happened.

He just lost 1/2 hour of homework time. Not a good thing for a Tuesday. It was fun listening to Diva and her boyfriend help difficult child do his math. The neighbor girl then came over and we all headed to bowling league. difficult child enjoyed recounting the bus accident. difficult child had one very good game and two average games. He didn't eat much and did not even finish his milk shake. He enjoyed the games and social time with his friends.

Diva took the neighbor girl home and I took difficult child to Rifle Club. He started the first two rounds out shakey. He was consistent in the shots but they were not hitting the target. I convinced difficult child that the consistency atleast was a good thing - it should be easier to figure out how to correct. We talked to one of the instructors who knew what the shot display meant and how to correct them. difficult child listened to the instructions and followed them. As he focused on what he needed to do, his scores returned to the middle to upper 30's and even had three in 40's (out of 50's)

The instructor told me at the end of the evening about how pleased he was with all the kids in the club. Every single one of them is respectful to the sport and open to instructions. He said it means that they do improve and that is fun to work with. Three of the adults worked with difficult child tonight to get him back on his track record. That was cool to see. They are all taking an interest in him and enjoying his progress (as they do the other kids). He may not have improved overall in scoring tonight but he did LEARN and applied some good tips from the experts. Because he listened and applied what he heard, he got back on track quickly.

When we came home, difficult child asked me to get him a cup of V8 Splash and when I didn't do it right away (went down to get sheets/blankets from the laundry room), he helped himself. He took a shower on his own without being asked, hugged me good night and said thank you (I assume for setting up his bed with new sheets and putting a towel in the bathroom).

No meltdowns! What a great way to end a busy day. It is good to see that he doesn't have to be angry at me all the time.

P.s. He said he could feel the Ritalin helping him today so that is also good. It is a 4 hour dose to cover the afternoon and it spills over to homework time when he does it right after school (which he normally does).
 
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M

ML

Guest
What a fantastic day. I can't remember if the ritalin is new. Something is definitely working here and I'm thrilled for our young man. He has every reason to be proud. He was *the man* today.
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
:D How great to have such a easy child kind of day! Sounds like the afternoon Ritalin may work. It helped one of ours tremendously many years ago. I hope today is equal to yesterday and brings hope for tomorrow. DDD
 
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