Facing Triggers

I talked about us going to see Beauty and the Beast.

Back in 2006, we had reservations to see Smokey Joe's at the Barn Dinner Theatre.  That morning we got a call from the nursing home to come over, that my grandmother was probably not going to make it much longer.  She took her breath about 15 minutes before we were suppose to leave.  My mom told us to go anyway, but of course we didn't, we wanted to be there for my mom.

In 2007, we decided to try it again. We went to see the show and that night I had this weird uneasy feeling all night and the next morning.  That next morning my mommy took her last breath.

It caused a trigger in me and thinking of the Barn Dinner Theatre made me think of death and here it is 8 years and 10 months later before I could tackle going.

After all, I try so hard to teach my child to work through her triggers, to not let things that remind her of bad times stand in her way of happiness, so I knew I had to tackle my own and lead by example.

We got home that night and the water wasn't working. The pressure pump on our well messed up.

The next day I got to thinking about kiddos situation when she was little. For years, she had no electricity or water in her home.  I worried not having water would trigger her.

She looked at me like I bumped my head when I asked if she was okay. She said it wasn't even similar at all.  Things break, we'd get it fixed quick. We went to a hotel to shower, we worked through it and didn't let the stress get to us.

Have I said lately how proud I am of this kid?

She's doing so amazing and I'm so excited to see how much she has progressed.

Even my friends are talking about how different she's seemed the last few times they've seen her....how relaxed and happy she seems.

And high school....more on that later, but her adjustment to high school is going amazing!!

Beauty and the Beast

When kiddo was 12, we took her to a broadway show of Beauty and the Beast. It was awesome, really loved it. She was "princess-y" back then.  Is that a word?

The Barn Dinner Theater in NC had a showing of it this past weekend.

We decided it'd be fun to go. It's been years since I've been there (the weekend my mother passed away and I've avoided it all this time).  I forgot the unique style they have there.

We took her and her new BFF and all 4 of us laughed through the entire show.

It was sorta "spoof" like in a way, but the overall plot was the same so the little kids would enjoy it too.

^^This was the "dad" of Beauty. He was hysterical.  He was also a SHE.

They interacted with the audience and came over to our table and took hubs hat off and said "nope, not a rose, avoid the stink weed".  Tears, literal tears from laughter.

We'll do it again soon.

On another note, REALLY like the new BFF.

I think this one has potential to be as close as the one we ended up having drama over.

We shall see.

Driving

Kiddo is obsessed with the idea that she is right around the corner from being old enough to drive.

I use the word obsessed lightly. She's not even as bad as I was, but still, it's so hard to believe she's creeping on that age.  She's even said she wants a car for Christmas and fine with not getting her normal truckload of stuff for it.

So, she's been studying the drivers guide from the DMV on and off the last month or two and I'm letting her pull me out of the driveway on to our private road and ride back and forth on the private road with me in the car.

I'm working my butt off at work trying to make sure I can get a good bonus when bonus time comes in November. It's the last month of the quarter to make it count and I totally would love to get this for monkey butt.  (not necessarily convertible, but you get the idea, something cute and little like this that she will not go racing on)

She's not even eligible to try for her learners permit until late December, so it's kinda funny to think that we're even exploring this idea.

Why would we do that Christmas instead of waiting until after she's licensed and ready?

One--pure excitement, since drivers licenses aren't on the 16th birthday now. So, a cool gift on Christmas is the next best thing.  Plus, I remember my Christmas at 17 when  I got my cool car.

Two--our cars include my SUV (large), husbands pickup with a straight gear and our convertible play car, also a straight gear, but also rare and costly to fix problems when they occur.  So, we feel like we may have value in having an auto that would be suitable for a newly driving teen.

Our requirements include not having big engine, being safe, not over the top expensive and not a bunch of room in the car.  Some say that it's better to get her a bigger car, but I feel like with a smaller car, she'll be better able to refuse to others to tote them around.

I don't want her having a zillion kids in the car distracting her.  We do have the advantage of her not wanting a zillion kids in her car constantly. She does better one on one, although her friend circle has grown considerably.

She's showing responsibility and making us proud lately.

I hope we can make this happen for her.

Interim Progress Report--School

So, we're 3 1/2 weeks into the school year and the stress level seems way down from last year. We have a seemingly happy kid that isn't exhibiting unusual levels of stress.

We got the first interim progress report and this momma is stunned.

AND PROUD.

After years of her struggling and anxiety ruling, so far she has no grades less than a B+.

I know it's early, but ZERO grades less than B+.  She's doing amazing and adjusting so well to high school life.

So excited for things to come.

I'm hoping that things will continue down this calm path.

Oh, and on another note....she has earned her phone back.  More on that later.