Living in Chaos: Survival

Summer is beginning...The sun is shining...

Summer is officially here. Dalton's school is out for the year, and David will be done with his finals tomorrow. He will begin the trek into adulthood, out of highschool, a chapter in his life ended, and an new book about to begin.

I have reason to hope that we have overcome the worst of his illness for the time being, and that his future will continue to improve. David is smiling, more. He is laughing more. He is talking more. He seems able to meet life with flexibility and motivation. He is able to reason...

This past weekend was a good one! A three day weekend, I was concerned that it might not go so well, they often haven't in the past. Changes in schedule and patterns tend to make things a bit crazy in our home.

Saturday, we spent a large portion of the day at home, just vegging. For the most part it was very peaceful. David seems a bit sedated from teh increase in his medication, but alternately, when he is awake, he is more pleasant, less stressed, and more coherant.

Sunday, David was very sedated in the morning. We left him home while we took Dalton and went to church. When we got home, he was awake and alert. We spent the afternoon shopping for summer clothes, primarily for David, as he has been gaining weight due to teh Clozaril. Weighing the pros and cons of weight gain vs, ability to live life, we will deal with the weight. We spent the reminder of the day at home, watched some videos and overall had a good day.

monday, we took the boys to the zoo. We all had a good time, even David. Dalton is a bit more manic. His hypomanic state has been escalating for about a month, with increased oppositional behavior and defiant, grandiose mouthiness... I think this is a combination of factors. First, spring and transition from one season to another is always a factor. Second, with school ending, the transition and excitement simply pushes him a bit further than kids who do not face his challenges. Third, David's illness and symptoms have affected Dalton, just as they have affected Gene and my stress levels. As David is getting better, Dalton is safer to express his stress build up. Last, he missed his nighttime medication dose twice in the past week! I had trustedhim to take it, upon request and did not check before bed to see it had been done. I will be more cognizant in the future.

When we got home from the zoo, David got a call from friends and left to spend about 3 hours hanging out and playing card games. dalton took a nap, both on the drive home, and for a short while as I prepared dinner. After dinner, we took him fishing at the pond up the street, and then to the park. He played very well with the children there.

It feels a little strange to be able to write of pleasant experiences after so much pain and instability, but god is good in his willingness to provide good times to outweigh the bad.

There is always a light, no matter how dim, if only we seek to find it.

Posted by TwoSons TrackBack