Stress

[flickr id=”5885702740″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]She poked her in the eye.

I know you’ve all heard the story in snippets on twitter, but oy.

Yesterday morning a LOUD scream echoed out from the girls room.  The one that said “True pain” not “drama queen” like Angel’s usual screams.

When I ran in she said that Riley had poked her in the eye.  I thought, at first, it was a typical brief poking, no real damage and she’d be fine.  Calmed down the situation and it seemed okay…but then it wasn’t.

Angel kept crying in pain every thirty minutes or so, moving up to ear splitting screams. So I took her to the pediatrician.

A large scratch (like a cm wide, 1/2 cm thick) right over her pupil.

It was intentional.

The poking, if not the depth of the result.

Angel spent the night in bed w/ me, Archie slept on the couch. I got to hear the heart melting words “Mama can I snuggle with you?” in my Angel’s darling cute little voice.

Today things are better…Angel isn’t shrieking in pain every 20-30 minutes…the ointment they gave her appears to be helping…and she’s rocking the eye patch. The girls are getting along again, even though Angel is telling her sister not to hurt her on a more frequent basis.

I don’t know where we go from here, but I know we need help.  Riley needs help. I’m certain she needs more than the school can provide, but the school is where we’ll start, while I schedule an appointment w/ the developmental pediatrician and wait until we can get in (likely to be a few months).

 

Sometimes it’s the little things that seem so big

[flickr id=”5984317283″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]
Since halfway through Kindergarten Riley has been an avid reader. Fervent. Excited. Searching. Learning. Teaching.

She taught her sister to read.

She devoured so many books.

Books are one of her distinct and clear joys.

So last night it was a shock.

A horror.

Dismay.

Hearing a noise from the girls room, I went into their room.

Riley was lying in bed calm as can be…

Ripping apart her books.

Five of them.

Destroyed.

All the pages strewn across the floor.

When we asked her why she said that she was happy.

She was happy.

So she ripped up her books.

Then it was pure horror when she realized she was not going to be able to read them ever again.

To top that off she’s beating up her sister again.

Fiercely.

There are scratches all over my Angel’s back, shoulders and HEAD.

We are concerned.

Because she ripped books.

But its a flag.

And we are concerned.

Silence

[flickr id=”5502918424″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”] Brandon left on Sunday.

Boy Scout camp for a full week.

Riley & Angel left this afternoon.

Gone to their grandparents for 2 days.

Archie leaves in the morning.

Off to work. Then to Family Night at Scout camp. Then work the next day.

The house is empty, save for me.

I sit in silence.

I will most likely be cleaning – something I always do when left alone.

During the in-between I will sit and soak up the silence.

Stuck between content and disturbed.

Normally chaos and noise fill this house.

The silence is disconcerting.

But rare enough that I will take some time to enjoy it.

I have a stack of books to read. Trying to meet my 50 books read in 2011 goal (15 read, several partially read).

I have 6 rooms that all need cleaning – one that needs a splash of paint on the trim.

I will complete what I can.

And enjoy some time off.

 

The Moxie of One

[flickr id=”5885701216″ thumbnail=”medium” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”] Let us live for the beauty of our own reality. ~Charles Lamb

Different.

Standing outside, wanting to get in.

Pure of heart.

Sharpest mind I’ve ever seen.

He alone is an acute observer, who can observe minutely without being observed. ~Johann Kaspar Lavater

Seeing the world differently.

Looking in gives unique perspective.

Knowing before she can express her knowledge.

Missing nothing.

Ignorance is bold and knowledge reserved. ~Thucydides

She doesn’t love on sight.

Affection is withheld.

Until you are in.

Known.

On her terms she lets you in.

And once she hugs you.

Holds you tight and kisses you.

Places her trust in her knowledge of you.

There is no better hug.

No fiercer love.

No brighter star.

The Monster in the Bathroom

(Arachnophobes beware)

The other day Riley rushed up to me with big eyes.

Holding her hands a foot apart she informed me…

“There’s a spider THIS BIG in the bathroom!!”

“THAT big?” I asked, grinning.

She nodded seriously, still holding her hands that far apart, “THIS BIG!”

In truth it was about 5 inches from long leg point to long leg point, a big spider…but I just thought it was so cute that she thought it was THIS BIG.

The spider was not harmed, I left her alone where she was (hey, she kills bugs, which we have too many of).  Whens he came down from her ceiling perch to disrupt my shower she still was not killed.  I gingerly picked her up by one leg and carried her outside to release her into the wild. She has since returned and taken up residence in the corner of the kitchen.  She is welcome, and unless absolutely necessary will not be harmed…

and she’s still THIS BIG.