THE BREAK IS OVER, YOU HAVE ME BACK (IF YOU WANT ME)

The Bundistribe has prevailed and now we have entered into Summer ’11 with a bang.  Here is a quick recap of the last month:

Bundistribe has grown (not what you think) in maturity.  B officially graduated from kindergarten and is now going to be a first grader. M is thrilled to be entering into the 4’s which leaves him only a year till he can join his brother at Latin. R is talking up a storm, having his way with his brothers and somehow has become the silliest of the bunch.  The hubby is conquering the admirable task of doing his job, going to grad school, and remaining a great father and husband. I am becoming more settled within myself. I am trying to be a better mom everyday (some days are successful and sometimes I completely fail) and a good friend and wife.

We just returned from our PA/NYC trip where we all survived and came back with smiles on our faces.  The hubby and I enjoyed a spectacular 10 year anniversary vacation to Napa Valley where we almost had as much fun as we did on our honeymoon.  Now weekends are filled with joyous outings to the pool while enjoying the rigorous process of training for our triathalon (taking place on June 18th).

TALKING TOURETTES

I can’t believe it has been 8 months since we found out. It feels like it as yesterday that we found out our oldest son has Tourettes.  I am pleased to say, as much as I would like my son not to have to deal with anything extra, especially a disorder such as TS, knowing and dealing with our son’s TS has made our family stronger, more aware and communicative about things that we didn’t discuss before.  B has accomplished so much this year.  Not only is he maturing into a lovely young boy but also into a person that is in touch with himself and those around him.  He has to constantly deal with not only fitting him as himself but also creating a strong shield so that he can identify and cope with other’s feelings towards his tics.

About three weeks ago, we had our final school conference.  We were very excited because B has been so enthusiastic about his school experience.  We have been hyper vigilant in making sure that his tics were not interrupting his learning process but this was our check in to make sure that was still true.  Unfortunately, it was revealed that during quiet time, when the teacher is up in front of the class teaching a lesson, that is when B has become distracted. B has NEVER been distracted.  I get it, sometimes kids change. Sometimes their focus is elsewhere. But, I visited the class for a special Moms day and I also witnessed my son acting in a way that was bizarre for him. It was if he had ants in his pants. His concentration was completely off and he wasn’t talking to friends and he wasn’t doing anything else. So, after getting a glowing report other than this one issue, we decided to talk to B.  Before we talked to him we thought about his behavior at home. We recalled how his tics have been. Was he having crazy bouts?  How often were the tics occurring.   The hubby and I concluded that everything was strange. We hadn’t been seeing tics for about two weeks and that felt odd for all of us.  We didn’t mention it because you surely don’t want to call attention to it when they aren’t there.

When we talked to B he said at first he didn’t know what the problem could be.  He said he was distracted and noted that he was not listening as well as he could.  When we asked “why” he responded “I am trying to keep the twitches in and then I can’t concentrate on everything else.  When I working really hard to listen to the teacher the tics are really loud and annoying so I try and keep them in.”  We decided this was a Sunny C moment that she needed to help us out with and so she did.  A few days later Sunny C came over for her session with B and he revealed to her that just the week before, in Science Lab, one of his girlfriends said “stop it” and he said “I can’t” and she said “try”.  Yes, our hearts sank as well when we heard this. This behavior is inevitable. We knew there would come a day that B would have to respond to these types of comments.  Since that day he tried to keep his tics in because he didn’t want them to be loud and annoying.  When we got the chance to discuss it openly I said “B, let them out. I miss them. They are who you are and that is who I am most proud of. I like you being different. We all are different.”  He said that he felt no one else is different around him.  Sunny C, came up with a great way of talking about it. She used his super heroes that he admires as examples.  “Does Wolverine has something that makes him different? Of course he does, his metal daggers that come through his hands.  Can he control that when it happens? No.  Same thing for the Hulk, right. He is different as well and has no control over when he gets upset and turns big and green.  They are just like you a bit different but people really like you anyway.”  Our six year old totally got this concept and has been ticing a lot every since. Eureka!

TODAY

Today, all of our boys when off to camp.  B was in a camp that he thought he wasn’t going to know a soul and he ended up knowing a few people at cooking camp and at acting for TV commercial camp.  He was so proud of himself and was delighted with how awesome his day was.  M and R went to camp and even though M started the day with some tears his smiles took over.  They both came home raving about what a great time they had at camp.  Overall, life is great.