Ups and downs

Life has definitely had its ups and downs lately. Bob has been dealing with the Northwest/Delta merger. The airline needs to get rid of a lot of people, so they’re offering an early retirement package—severance, pension and medical. The severance and pension are nothing to write home about. But the company is willing to go in half on the medical insurance. So, when all is said and done, Bob’s monthly pension only covers his insurance and car payment. The good news is, Bob can go in and out of the coverage, and so if he were fortunate enough to find a full-time job with benefits, he could opt out of the program. And if he quit or lost his job he’s allowed to go back on the plan. But of course the timing sucks. He was given two weeks to decide (the deadline is January 31st) and with the way the job market is going we’re both concerned how long it’ll take for him to find a job. Any job. And, unfortunately, my salary doesn’t stretch very far. So I have to say I’ve been on the edge lately. Then there’s Garrett. He’s a changed child, but not in a good way. He’s become far more aggressive and angry. He now he lashes out at the animals and me when he doesn’t get his way. Most of the change in behavior came after our trip to Atlanta three months ago. He’s not the kind child I once knew although he can be very sweet to visitors. And he would never act up with papa. There are days I have to run upstairs to the walk-in closet to let out a scream or two. It probably doesn’t help that I’m pre-menopausal; there are days my hormones are raging, which leaves me with little patience for him.

So to see if I was the only one experiencing his bad behavior, I called his special education teacher today. It's common for kids to regress a bit after the long holiday break. While his academics hadn’t slipped, she was troubled by his attention deficit and inability to calm himself down. TO’s don’t work. in fact, she felt he had regressed back to September behavior. I actually think he’s where he was in Uralsk—out of control, always moving, but now with an angry, mean streak thrown in. For example, this morning, I wanted to put cream on his ringworm and he got so mad he kicked the cabinet door, leaving a big black scuffmark. Even more troubling, his teacher told me that he was only the second child in her 25-year experience that she felt could benefit from drugs. Not a good thing to hear. We have a meeting scheduled for February 12th with his IEP team to discuss next steps. Once he turns seven in July he’ll age out of the district help that he’s now receiving. We may need to try and see if he qualifies using other “testing” models. We’re also scheduled to have him tested with the psychologist/behaviorist over at the International Adoption Clinic to get an independent opinion. If Dr. Johnson recommends that he needs therapy it will help in our battle to secure services. To be honest, I haven’t pushed much this past year because I felt Garrett needed time to learn English and catch up with his peers. But starting in April, I’ll get more aggressive about it. I’ve been told you need to fight for every service you get and I’m prepared to do so. Especially since I know we’ll be unable to afford many of these services on our own.

Now I'll end on an up note. Here are some cute shots of our beloved pets. Here's Little Guy being a snuggle bunny with Bob. That's Biddy on the left: Then there's twinkle toes Cody modeling his paw protectors. Those little suckers really come in handy when the temps dip below zero. Don't want him getting frozen toosies. (Don't you love the reflective strips—very flashy, ay?)