Well, So Much for That…
By Betsy | 8:49 amLast night (after I slaved over this semi-celebratory post, no less), @ladeedoo quietly informed me that she wanted to start taking her ADHD medication again for this week’s summer camp.
She very clearly didn’t want to begin again — much tears and drama and ‘oh, woe is me!’ ensued after she told me what she’d decided. And she also wouldn’t give me any specifics about just why she made that decision, other than “I think I need to be a little bit more in control.”
So I packed a healthy lunch today that she’s not likely to eat, tried to make sure she got a decent breakfast, and watched as she took the lower-dose pill we’d gotten for the summer anyway.
This morning, when I told the camp director she was now on meds today, she said “oh, I’d meant to talk to you last night.” Turns out, there was a multi-girl tween altercation yesterday morning. Emotions ran high, feelings were hurt, harsh words were said. And while my kid wasn’t the instigator or the chief conspiritor, well - she’d clearly been caught in the cross-fire.
So she made the decision on her own to go back to the meds. Even though she doesn’t want to, would much rather “just be normal.”
If I had to choose between a much-desired growth spurt and the evolution of mature, responsible actions? I’ll take the latter…
…and I’ll pull out the mini-blender to move into high-volume healthy smoothie production while I’m at it!
Topics: Drama Mama | 1 Comment »
Growth Spurt!
By Betsy | 8:44 pmDrama Mama (now henceforth to be referred to as @ladeedoo) and I have been in a routine that’s been working to manage her off-the-charts ADHD for the last year or so. Her psychiatrist and I are both pleased with how effectively her long-acting Focalin has been working for her — but more importantly, my kid feels successful and in control when she’s taking her medication.
She doesn’t get it all the time — instead, she gets one pill every weekday, plus one on shabbat school/hebrew days on Saturday - but the rest of the time (including holidays), she’s medication-free.
I’ve been typically keeping her on medication during the summer weekdays as well, as it helps curb the impulse control issues (among other things) that can damage summer camp friendships. (Plus, it makes getting out of the house easier for those of us who still have that pesky day job, even though it’s summertime…)
This year, though, the kid balked. She’s tired of not eating anything for lunch, you see. She’d like to get her appetite back.
We knew that loss of appetite is a typical side effect, and had done what we could to work around it: healthy (or not-so-healthy) breakfasts, copious snacks, even before dinner, and regular snacking before bedtime. Plus two whole days of a chance to force feed her before another Monday rolled back around. But even with all of that, her weight was barely creeping up between bi-monthly checkups; her doctor was starting to get a bit concerned.
This time around? We had a whole 3 pound weight gain since March, woo-hoo! Nevertheless, she asked us if she could go without for a while, please.
And her doctor (who was quite amused to see my unmedicated kid after months of getting the calmer, quieter, yet still effervescent @ladeedoo — “at least we know we’ve found the right treatment for her, right?”) okayed it. We didn’t need to worry about fluctuating doses in her system; once the medicine’s worn off, it’s gone.
My kid’s been medicine-free for over a week and a half now.
My grocery bill — already reeling from The Mogul’s voracious teenage appetite — may never recover.
Here’s what my rail-thin kid had since we got home tonight:
- Three huge handfuls of sugar snap peas and a plum, which she snacked on while waiting for dinner
- Two heaping plates of chicken alfredo with zucchini; a mound of steamed broccoli; and some roasted asparagus
- Two more plums, almost an entire pint of strawberries, and a popsicle.
(yes, our organic produce box got delivered today, can you tell? no, we don’t eat like this every night.)
Last night after-dinner/before-bedtime snack? A pound of sugar snap peas. A pound of cherries. More popsicles. More strawberries. A lemon meringue pudding cup. And a few squeezable yogurts; maybe a hunk of cheese in there somewhere.
We only have three weeks this summer that we know she’ll need her meds (for two weeks of musical theater camp and then a week of overnight camp.) And as of right now, she weighs a whopping 78 pounds at 4 feet, 9 inches (for a BMI of 16.9, or Pretty Freakin’ Low.)
If she keeps eating like this, I can’t wait to see where we are when September rolls around!
Topics: Drama Mama | No Comments »
What have I been up to?
By Betsy | 10:18 amDoing good things hither and yon, that’s what! (Shhh, don’t tell anyone….)
- I’ve been taking time off from work to witness Drama Mama’s 5th grade promotion events, from dances to class picnic to other assorted celebrations (flash mob of 90 kids breaking out into The Hustle in the school cafeteria? Yeah, saw that…!)
- I’ve been using gluttony for good by orchestrating this pie eating contest, raising 450 dollars for our local Free Geek non-profit as a result
- I’m helping friends gracefully unwind their business via posts on OurPDX
- And I’ve been raising money to fund the hosting of my daughter’s (now-former) elementary school website by writing a review of Volvo’s XC60
See what you get sucked into when people a) know you can get things done you’re bossy, and b) despite your carefully-cultivated bitchy reputation, they know you’re secretly a soft touch?
Topics: Boss Lady | No Comments »
Celebrations and rememberances
By Betsy | 8:24 pmToday, my young daughter turned eleven.
She’s teetering on the edge of womanhood — not afraid to flip me an eyeroll and a hairflip in one breath, then snuggle up next to me to give me a bear-crushing hug and exuberant kiss five minutes later. She’s thrilled at the gift of her very own cell phone (one she’s been campaigning for years now), yet wanted to also take her special birthday balloon to dinner as well. And even though I know she’s going to work my last nerve in the years to come, I’m proud of the beautiful, talented, empathetic girl she is right now.
She was born eleven years ago on Memorial Day. Then, I thought I’d already passed through the worst thing I’d ever experienced as her parent — weeks of hospitalization and touch-and-go moments that ended happily with an alive, relatively healthy pre-term baby. And I assumed that I’d always remember Memorial Day as the day I met my Zoe.
Five years ago, I learned that the day carries with it bittersweet memories for scores of other parents. And I bore witness to the agony suffered by two such parents with the passing of Oregon native, son, and father-to-be Joseph Jeffries.
Today, I can grin at my kid’s excitement as we make our annual trip to the fancy dessert place for the glittery chocolate dessert she loves. Or indulge her with a waffle crammed full of strawberries and nutella.
But I won’t ever lose sight of the fact that I’m lucky enough to have her around to kiss the whipped cream off that upper lip — this year, anyway. And I know that the agita her older brother puts me through on a regular basis will fade away in time; while the eggs his former friends toss at the house on a nightly basis can all be rinsed away. My kids are here, they’re alive, and they’re healthy.
Five years ago, I took that for granted. Now, I hold Joe Jeffries‘ memory in my heart every day.
Especially today.
Topics: Joe Jeffries, Non-whimsy | No Comments »
Proof positive…
By Betsy | 8:30 pm…that my increasingly snarky and unappreciative teenage son occasionally can show gratitude:
OMG! My teen put it in writing!
Yes, I did him a solid. Yes, he cringed when I referred to it later in person (once we’d both arrived back home) as ‘doing you a solid.’
But he still paid me back by moving my laundry from the washer to the dryer, he did!
(And yes, I will continue to save this photographic evidence as proof and gaze upon it lovingly in the appreciation-free days to come…)
Topics: Boss Lady | 1 Comment »
