Yes you read that right. My last regatta of the season is this coming weekend. Out of town. TWO weekends in a row! How often does that happen? While some might be thinking "What's the big deal?!?" and some might be thinking "You get to go away ALONE!!!"...it is true that at 19, Riley is better able to cope with me being away. Yet there still is a certain amount of ummm stress for the three of us.
For Riley the processing of information starts as soon as he finds out I am going away. This involves updating his visual schedule and talking himself through it.
Last week R updated his schedule because I was stalling before I was able to.
For G it is having to listen to R recite the same script over and over and over for the entire time I am away while at the same time trying to convince R that I have not indeed died. Oish.
For me there is that fine line of when to tell him. “You will be gone. You
are not coming back.” It is so hard for me to hear
every…single…time R sees me before I leave. Do I feel guilty leaving R at
home with G?? Hell no! It just drives me bat sh*t crazy!!! :)
One thing that has worked so well with Riley has been his visual schedule. If it is on the schedule...it is concrete for him and therefore will be happening. He can see what/when and for how long the activity/event will occur and/or whether it is a desirable one (therefore can stay up on his schedule) or well ummmm...not (will be removed ASAP - see photo below).
R removed all evidence that I was ever away (with the exception of McD's).
My only saving grace is that after this weekend, the next time "we" put up going away on R's schedule it will be for a family trip. While R keeps asking/hoping to be going on "the big airplane"...it will unfortunately be a "long drive" (13 hours) kind of vacation. A VERY loooong drive indeed. Not sure who is more disappointed about the long drive...me or R?!?
Although G, R and I all survived the weekend my one and only live plant...well let's just say has seen better days.
Gee...it actually looks rather healthy this picture. :)
Have yourself a great weekend!!!
Ha! I had a plant like that. My mom received three when her husband died, and gave one to me. For years I kept that thing, and every couple of months it looked like yours (or worse). I finally gave it back to her, saying it was too much pressure.
ReplyDeleteAt least you are much better at raising children than you are at plants. :)
Have fun!
Haha...a neighbour who was moving away actually gave me the plant. My first question "is it hardy???" because I don't do well with "real" plants. One of these days I'm pretty sure it won't bounce back. I totally understand the pressure. :)
DeleteLMAO!!!
ReplyDeleteThat plant. I love that plant hahaaa!!!! Enjoy it while you can! We all put in our overtime lol (Tom is running low on patience with it all lol) 13 hour drive? Holy heck woman! Why in the world would you do that to yourselves? lol I don't think i could handle that just for myself. oish indeed!! My ears ache for G. That repetitive dialogue can drive a person to the edge! lol ;)
Seriously...the plant actually looked worse IRL!!! :O
DeleteAs for the 13 hour drive...I KNOW!!! We are off to G's brother's and G insists we can do it in a day. The last few times we would come home in a day because we would gain an hour but always did the trek there with an overnight stop. This trip, I am relegated to the back seat so I figure I'll just sleep. Haahaa!
I do feel slightly bad for G...but only slightly. ;P
Is that what's it called....thanks! And bulletproof indeed. Only others that survive in my house are artificials. Haha!
ReplyDeleteNo epic drive coming any time soon...this was a flashback post. Thank goodness although R does much better than I do on our epic driving vacations. Oish.