Doing what there is to do, not always glamorous or exciting, but one can glean tremendous wisdom in the doing of menial tasks.
This week, back from the intensive love retreat, was double duty with children’s needs, appointments, and holiday catch-up. To top that off, the garage floor, something I had said to our worker would be great after Jan 1, was started with grinding and sanding, scraping and prepping for a surfacing process possibly done next week, and a visit from our drop-shade contractor to solidify the contract for the enclosing of our patio in 4 to 6 weeks.
I remember this poem from college about love: nothing is plumb, level, or square… well, if you look at my week, I will say, yep, that is so true. And in the midst of all the activity, we were able to have an incredible holiday meal and festivities with friends, attend a local homespun Nutcracker performance (OMG, Henry was adorable there, let me tell you).
Henry at the Nutcracker. He understood about going to the Nutcracker, knew what they looked like, and that they would dance for us. Henry clapped enthusiastically at every turn and was totally mesmerized by the big dancing mice, and when more came on stage, he exclaimed, “Mice, mice, mice!” with absolute delight. As the dance progressed, it held his interest, until close to the end of the first act when he turned around, put his arms around my neck for a big hug, which then moved into a big kiss for mommy. He was absolutely delightful! Adelia loved the ballet, but was tired and asked a few times if we could go home or if she could sleep in the car. This was fine, and didn’t spoil anything. She was tired, and we left feeling very happy at the end of the intermission, not letting the kids know there was a second act since neither of them could have made it through in any kind of ease. I learned Henry is capable of sitting for a performance for an hour, and he is way more attentive than any 2-year-old I know. Adelia stayed happy while there, and that was such a win as well!
Henry was the first to have his big 2-year evaluation with the pediatric developmentalist. He’s just a rock star. Dr. Charlotte said she has never seen a child so advanced given his difficult start. She thanked me profusely for being his mom and for all the work I am doing with him. Henry was having fun entertaining her and decided to do some of his tricks: somersaults, leaping, landing, jumping off low furniture… totally a kick. He had an extremely interested audience with the two of us watching on.
Adelia had her pediatric developmentalist appointment the next day, and it was also wonderful. She tested with a high intelligence in the 94th%—my brilliant girl. He was so validating to her as she could do some things and not others. We got a diagnosis for FASD, which is helpful. He is an expert, and I can now ask him questions and work quantumly to continue to improve Adelia’s trajectory. He explained the exposure to alcohol as she was forming in the womb basically dehydrated her brain, and it continues to be an issue as she develops. There were 4 supplements he wanted us to try, 1 at a time: 3 give foundational support to the brain, and one to support emotions. We are to do one for 3 weeks, then go off for a week and document if it helped anything. He explained, which no one had done before, the condition of the brain with the dehydration is what causes her to need way larger doses of medication than a normal child. This was a big aha for me. It is possible with these minerals that she may not need to keep increasing in dosage as she gets a year or two older. This was predicted by the psychiatrist. He showed me, maybe not intentionally, how the executive function fails—for example, something that she should know but cannot recollect, like naming a green vegetable. I realized she often turns to me and says, “Mom, you tell them.” Now I understand, she is in the moment, not able to access the details that she knows but can’t find the pathway back to them. So, really good stuff to work on. He was so entirely sweet with Adelia, it made me give a second thought about whether he is married. Anyway, he was extremely validating to Adelia, and he gave me some sweetness by complimenting my calmness and grace, saying that Adelia was so fortunate to have me.
We went to her pediatrician today (Friday) and were able to fill in more of the questions I and Adelia had. Her head size is smaller than the average 8-year-old, her height is that of an average 11-year-old, and her weight is that of an average 10 ½-year-old. She had hearing and vision both tested. She could hear the sounds and see the letters very well, yet she struggles to register what she hears and has both visual and auditory overwhelm where she may not register what she has heard or may not be able to see what is in front of her. Dr. Hawkins (Lindsay) was as well so sweet with Adelia—happy, warm, and welcoming to us, saying she was excited to see us, and wanting to make sure she gave us all the referrals we needed.
From all of this new information – which I had observed on my own but maybe not fully processed—I feel a great deal of compassion for how hard it must be for Adelia at times. I do now understand how she could want to get lost in a movie or good book (which she often does).
Since it was such an intense week of medical stuff for the kids, this is what I had in my mind to tell you about, and to mention that these wonderful communications, feeling the love, the pure love and validation of God that was pouring forth on my children and myself in each case. This kind of ‘receiving’ was a shift. I know it was a direct result of the clearings done in the miraculous expansion of love retreat. Maybe there was love always there for us, and we couldn’t receive it due to being wary of medical practitioners. A big clearing we did in the retreat was on being able to receive love. We did big time this week, under what would have normally been stressful appointments.
And my last little comment – today after doing 2 hours of driving and the doctor’s appointment, I dropped Adelia at school and headed over to Black Rifle for a cup of spicy Chai. I sneezed while waiting for my chai, and heard a lovely masculine voice declare, “GOD BLESS YOU.” I turned and saw that behind me stood a gentleman, so handsome—I mean jaw-dropping good looking—who was speaking to me. We chatted a moment about Texas allergens, until my tea arrived. Again, I felt a deep love from God moving in my direction, stirring in me an excitement and joy for being alive, knowing everywhere I go, love is waiting for me.