Monday, November 28, 2011

Have bit off more than I can chew

My angel friend Kat asked me today if June was getting into things these days and I showed her a picture that pretty much sums it up:
I know you have one of these tupperware drawers.

This is good and bad as one with a child would understand.  On one hand you are rejoicing because your child is becoming more mobile and more independent, and on the other hand you are complaining that you have to follow your child around and lock doors and drawers you've never locked before, move plants, antiques and picture frames high, out of reach, buy childproofing devices you swore you'd never purchase because there would be no need for them, because, after all, you are a fair and firm disciplinarian. 

Needless to say I am not raising a typical child.  One jaunt to the beach and you'd understand that this little girl thoroughly enjoys chewing on sand and other leafy objects.  She is stimulated in a way only my therapists understand.  She doesn't make that icky face that a normal child makes after she's had a few mouthfuls, she makes that obsessed crazy face that says, "Give me more and I'll take any punishment".  Same with leaves, dirt, anything gross or gritty, really.  But her favorite is books.  She can destroy a book by eating it in about 5 seconds.  We only have one perfect board book left.

Iva June starts school on January 3.  I can't believe it, but I am actually putting my little baby who doesn't even walk yet on a bus, sending her off to school and hoping that she'll come back a little more knowledgeable, a little more social and a lot less obsessive.  I can't lie.  I'm entrusting her to the Norfolk Public Special Needs System, because I know they'll do a better job than me AND so I can have a breather for three hours a day.  Things are getting more and more difficult.  She is getting heavier and bath times alone are like catching a squirming, drowning 30 pound slimy fish who sometimes bites.  Meal times, if done correctly and therapeutically take an hour each.  She's supposed to wear glasses at least an hour a day, but since she eats those, I have to follow her around for an hour.  She needs to wear a hat (that she also eats) because she is boring a hole into the back of her head because of all the upside-down spinning she does.  She still poops four times a day and, throws up, on occasion.  There are at least 105 other therapies or "good ideas" that I'm supposed to be doing daily, but unless I hire a maid and a cook, that won't happen...and since we are also in our first, full-blown financial crisis as a family, I am officially wondering just what God is thinking.

So He told me and I'm banking on it:
"My God will supply all my needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:19

5 comments:

  1. oh friend, how i wish i could take all this on for you. but you already have a masterful savior to do that for you. i just love you so and will be praying.

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  2. Hey there Katie,
    You are going thru some very rough waters right now. I know you must feel like the waves will surely overtake you at any moment and pull you under never to rise again. Praise God that He has promised that as we go thru the waters He will go with us, that He will hold us up and will not let us fall.
    However, we Christians can be very good at Bible speak and fail to ever offer REAL touchable help and I don't want to be that kind of Christian.
    I have some ideas of how I might be able to lighten your load a little bit.
    Please call me. Lets talk and catch up and let me share my ideas with you.
    I love you and I'm praying for you.
    Our God is able to do above and beyond all that we can ask or imagine!
    Vicky

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  3. Of course I love this... and you... and her... I melt every single time I read a post of yours. Thank you for sharing. I am so excited to see you all in a few weeks. (come early if you can). :)

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  4. Ps. I swear june and i are starting to look alike. ;) maybe it is just wishful thinking.

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  5. Goodness me! Things are awesomely wonderful and awful all at the same time. You're doing a great job- and that includes making that decision that you didn't want to have to make about sending her to school. You don't have to feel guilty about not being able to do it ALL, ALL the time. I can sense that you do, so don't. Being a good Mom also means understanding your limits, and this includes the time constraints for all of your children combined. It's a very fine line to balance, and you constantly have to reevaluate it. I pray that she loves school, and that it works out beautifully for the whole family!

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