Heading into HUMPDAY (also day 3 of the new reality)

Happy Humpday!  

My son is drinking tea out of his HumpDay mug!  


Technically it is my mug, but when a coworker of mine gave it to me- and I brought it home, my son sort of took it over....it's been like this for years now. 

Yesterday was a mixed bag but mainly it was very productive.  It was productive because I kept focus on our goals, and I continuously brought "His Goals" to Alex's attention.  I used language like, "Keep your goals in mind....if you do this now, you may not complete this later". With the ADHD brain, they tend to become hyper-focused on projects.  This is what set us "off a bit" yesterday.  Alex FINALLY participated in CADD- Computer Aided Drafting.  Below are some "candids" of his work with drawing a Gaming Chair:






It was great that he became intent on doing a good job- to be completely honest I had to BATTLE WITH HIM to get him to go to his class!  But once there, he focused.  Then after class, he kept drawing and drawing for hours.  I finally had to insist that he break away from it to complete at least one or two other class assignments.  This was when I reminded him that he has goals (Earning back the game controllers so he can play games online with his new friend from Monday's Meet).  In order to hit that goal, more assignments that are passed-due must be turned in.

Reluctantly, Alex came to agree, and then completed two Computer Science Items before his medication completely wore off and he went off the wall.  I never actually noticed the tipping points with him before.  I can see HOW much the meds help now that I am "in the classroom with him".

So everything here is not just about Alex.  Annika has her own things going on too and we are all here together most days.  Annika's schedule is her own and is slightly different from ours being that she has classes, friends and work.  She stays up later and wakes up later in the morning, but for the most of each day, we are altogether in the same area of the house.  It amazes me how nicely our home space has worked for this particular time in history.  Our Kitchen, Dining Room and Living Room are open from one end of the house straight back to the other.

I am going to segway for a moment and I will circle back to Annika shortly.  

WAY back when I used to be a Daycare Teacher, I obtained a book that changed me forever.  I am pretty sure that the book was damaged in one of my moves, but I remember it well and it has become a part of me.  The book was about "creating environments".  This book has a DEEP significance in the person that I have become. I wake up and set the environment for learning for my son now...just like I used to as a Daycare Teacher and as a Home Daycare provider for many years.  You see, I firmly believe that our environment has the potential to strongly impact our JOY and our feelings of security.  And these my friend...these are what life is literally ALL about.

I open the windows, letting air flow from end to end of the house.  I set the lighting and seating.  I prepare the food and the meds.  When everything is in place, I monitor for the next scene change.  I am the director, the editor, the muse.

Ok, enough about me.  Let's get back to Ani:  She has a lot on her shoulders as a young adult.  It is a complex role to parent a person her age, as some of my friends may already know.  Others of you...get ready.  That is all I will say. Annika has recently signed with a Modeling and Acting Agent and probably she will start getting calls for opportunities any day now.  She is eager to get a car for her own freedom...a task that I am attempting to help her with.  She works 20-25 hours a week at a local bakery and really enjoys her work (although it is VERY HARD WORK).  She is considering adding a 2nd part time job to that or picking up photography work "on the side".

Imagine graduating High School and beginning your freshman year of college both during a Global Health Crisis, all online and no contact with other people except through technology.  That is what she is up against.  

As Alex and I sit focused on our work,  Annika flits about like a little fairy, gabbing away about her feelings or about TicToks...there is really not a serious bone in her body at this moment.  I try to be understanding because I HAVE BEEN THERE...I really have.  She has to let herself be "Free as a bird" for a while.  But I have to speak up and let her know that these distractions are affecting our ability to focus.

So there, I have painted you a picture of a day in my life.  Here are some things that made us smile yesterday:




~Namaste,


Lilac

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