"It doesn't matter where you come from, as long as you find where you belong." That's the movie tag-line. Has everyone seen the movie, Martian Child? I did, back in 2007. It's one of those sappy date movies staring John Cusak. It was cute, nothing to wrtite home about, and forgotten until recently. Recently, that is, until we brought one home!Julia craves attention, she can't get enough of it and usually I channel her need and energy into a bit of wrestle-mania each night. I knew going into all this that each of my children would have special needs, but Julia has special-special needs! She passes in and out of this phase of hers quite regularly. That is, she can be a typical "tween" one minute and a five year old the next. In case you forgot, she's 11. She stands out from the others because she does things differently, not badly, just differently.
Recently, though, Julia has been pushing everyones buttons. She's needed a lot more "management". She worries herself that Nadia gets 1 extra minute of our time or Nadia gets to do this or that or Nadia went to take a shower and used one more drop of water than she got to use. We have to tell her constantly that "she is not Nadia's Mamma or Papa, we are. Only worry about Julia!" We tell her this a hundred times a day.
Also, we need your help. We are teaching Julia that it is not OK to touch everybody she meets, it's not OK to hop in everyone's lap or play with their hair and face. Julia does have an attachment problem, just in the opposite direction. She knows who her parents are, but she craves the attention she never got as a baby so she attaches to everyone and anyone who will play and interact with her. Our words to her are "no hands". Help us, help her and thank you for understanding.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not busting on Julia. I love her and her individuality. I like that she's different. I like that she wears her shades to watch TV, even though the lights are out. I like that she wears short skirt summer-wear when it's time for winter fashion, I like that she needs an umbrella "just in case" when the sun is shining or that she draws equally well on her body as she does her papers. I especially like that she can write or draw with either hand instead of moving the paper or pen to the other side. Most times, whereever or whatever we are doing, she is doing her own thing. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's bad...like when we are crossing the street, for example. I call it her "dooty-doo" mode! You know what I'm talking about! When there is chaos all around but there's that one person looking at the scenery and smelling the roses. Julia smells the roses, and I love her for that, just not in traffic.
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~ Felix ~
