grammarwoman: (Default)
Kim ([personal profile] grammarwoman) wrote2013-12-18 04:31 pm

How to ruin an afternoon in two emails

A week ago, the Emperor woke up early with a horrible cough, but he assured me that he could handle school. The school nurse called me a couple of hours later with the news that he had a 100.8 degree fever, and that I needed to take him home. I'm very lucky that my boss is flexible and my laptop is portable, so I worked from home the next couple of days as he recovered from the fever/coughing/tummy bug that laid him low.

However, returning to school after a five day binge on TV and videogames did nothing for his social skills success; he cried most of the way home when I told him that not meeting his goal still meant no privileges. He was tired out of his gourd and hotly denying it, too. (Kid, I've been your mom for your whole life; I know what you sound like when you're tired.) I didn't even rub it in when he fell asleep buried in his couch cushion cocoon ten minutes after getting home.

Yesterday he was very proud of himself to have made his goal. I was glad to hear that he was back on track.

Then today I got an email from the teacher informing me that he's leaving important work in his desk instead of bringing it home, and he's still being disruptive in class and is falling behind other kids because he can't pay attention the first or second time something is explained. As I was composing a reply to that letter, another email from the teacher showed up, this time letting me know that he hadn't bothered working on the class holiday craft, so he wouldn't have that to share with us.

I guess I haven't been keeping an eye on my "CAN" levels, because that second email literally reduced me to tears. I feel like such a shitty parent when I've got nothing left to tell the teacher about how to handle my son. I don't even know if ADHD medication would help at this point, considering that he throws up any pills other than his multivitamin.

I know part of my over-reaction is the looming menace of my period, but goddamn, I'm feeling really low right now.
frayadjacent: peach to blue gradient with the silouette of a conifer tree (!Fuck)

[personal profile] frayadjacent 2013-12-18 11:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Ugh, I'm really sorry to hear it. I definitely don't have any advice, but lots of sympathy.
kass: Siberian cat on a cat tree with one paw dangling (Default)

[personal profile] kass 2013-12-18 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh honey, so sorry. I send love.
the_shoshanna: my boy kitty (Default)

[personal profile] the_shoshanna 2013-12-18 11:33 pm (UTC)(link)
It's so hard. I'm sorry.
synecdochic: torso of a man wearing jeans, hands bound with belt (Default)

[personal profile] synecdochic 2013-12-18 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)
considering that he throws up any pills other than his multivitamin

as someone who's been dealing with this with the cat -- not the throwing up, but complete and utter refusal to take pills -- i recommend going to a compounding pharmacy and getting the drugs compounded into a liquid! most of them can be.
norah: Monkey King in challenging pose (Default)

[personal profile] norah 2013-12-19 01:01 am (UTC)(link)
Right there with you today. Solidarity. R came home with several DAYS worth of schoolwork he had refused to complete, including a test. And I took one look at the test and told him to re-do it; he'd totally missed the point, and I walked him through that - and he redid it Exactly The Same Way and then my partner came home from his trip and questioned everything about how I was handling the situation and I just.

I felt kind of good this morning, capable and adult. I do not feel good anymore. Not at all.
synecdochic: torso of a man wearing jeans, hands bound with belt (Default)

[personal profile] synecdochic 2013-12-19 03:37 am (UTC)(link)

woe! sorry, i should've already realized you would have tried it :)

(and unlike the cat, you can't exactly hide the pill in treats or the liquid in tuna water!)

synecdochic: torso of a man wearing jeans, hands bound with belt (Default)

[personal profile] synecdochic 2013-12-19 04:11 am (UTC)(link)

ugh, that sucks!

i'm a mild supertaster myself, and i definitely feel for him. it took me years to figure out what tastes i was likely to enjoy (sweet, salty, umami) and what i wasn't (sour and bitter; anything even remotely bitter will make me nope right the fuck out of there and sour just sets my teeth on edge). i hope you can figure out a way to deal with things...

heresluck: (slings & arrows: geoffrey)

[personal profile] heresluck 2013-12-19 02:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh god, that just sucks. Sending hugs and sympathy your way!
synecdochic: torso of a man wearing jeans, hands bound with belt (Default)

[personal profile] synecdochic 2013-12-19 03:02 pm (UTC)(link)

that definitely sounds like a challenge. i consider myself pretty lucky i manage to be as adventurous as i am by now, but it definitely took a while to get there. here's hoping he loses a bit of that neophobia as time goes on!

[personal profile] kayote 2013-12-20 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
*hugs*