1 Week

We have officially made it a week as a family of six. We even survived having LM as a house guest for two nights (she spent the week at my Mom's house). And by survived I mean there were 7 people in our house and everyone was fine. Mostly.

Sarah is struggling with her emotions. From what I've been told she doesn't "connect" with them. I think she connects but doesn't know how to verbalize. And I would put her emotional age at 4/5 instead of the 7 she actually is. I've had to tell her to use her words pretty often during her meltdowns. Rationalization isn't there. And she imagines she's in trouble even when she isn't. She does seem to be able to draw and journal her feelings. She drew a picture of a heart with a happy face and a sad face on the other side. When asked about it she started crying.

The speed with which these children start to cry is like nothing I've ever seen. We are going to have to choose words even more carefully. The perception of the tiniest disappointment sends them into meltdown mode. Of course Mom did this in the meeting and I'm pretty sure she was crying while they were on the phone the other day. So this may also be a learned behavior.

Smiley had some tears last night about her visit today which of course was cancelled this morning. She said she wasn't missing her Mom but she was sad about her visit. She couldn't tell me what about or why. Her little bottom lip quivers and her big brown eyes get even wider. It's heart breaking. We'll see if Mom contacts me about speaking to the kids today. She needs to seek them out.

And the Dad might still get his visit if the roads are clear. Last time though, he cancelled due to his pregnant girlfriend being in the hospital. I suspect this may be why he is showing up at all. She may be encouraging contact. Which is silly since before they came into care he had shown no interest in these kids and had gone to jail for assaulting their Mom. (Hey System- stop digging parents up!) He didn't work his case plan the first time the kids were in care. He has yet to show up for court this time around. I'm sorry, the inconsistency isn't fair to the kids. I don't think if you can't bother to show up for court or send an attorney that you should be given services.

As a group the kids are great. They get along pretty well. They are fairly calm. It's almost too good to be true.