Reflections

It is now time for my return to home. I am sitting in the airport by myself preparing to board in 30 minutes. The trip got off to a very rough start but I ended up having a great time. I told Todd if I could have one more week then I think I could be rested up. I still don't feel all that great. I haven't been able to hear clearly since we left Taos over a week ago. I decided that while in Vegas it wasn't such a bad thing to have limited hearing. Lots of rest and thinking. Todd & I reflected a lot on the 4 year old girl that came to live with us around thanksgiving. Pacifier, sippy cup, overweight, uncoordinated, no personal hygiene skills, couldn't hold a pencil yet so well behaved and obviously loved as she was so kind and thankful. I think about the person she is today and I think what a great description. She is a person, an individual. She is no longer a 4 year old body that someone has tried to keep as a baby. I signed her up to be tested for special Ed because I felt like she was so behind in speech, gross motors, and fine motors. After a month with us, we were already beginning to see a different child. One who could skip, hold a pencil, and didn't use the word ain't. She soaked up even more as we signed her up for private preschool. Through the positive growth we also witnessed a change for the negative. A child who could throw a crying fit for an hour. A child who couldn't work herself out of fit no matter what technique we tried. I am worried about her coping skills. I don't understand how a child can get upset over a small incident than not be able to stop herself from spinning it into serious crying fit. She could not figure out how to stop crying so that she could simply step out of her room. This became very disturbing to the family and a true test of our patience. I know that I didn't always pass the patience test. I worry about her. I worry about if she will be allowed to do anything she wants so she will never have to use her coping skills. I worry that she will have trials and won't be able to cope. I pray for little A.