School has been back in session for a few weeks here now, and the difference can surely be appreciated around my house. There are actually days when I can begin a coherent thought, and follow it through to the end now!

I admit that I had some troubling doubts about how well my five year old, my RAD-ish (a term I borrow from one of Nancy Spoolstra’s wonderful readers), would handle the intensity of a long, anxiety filled day. I am very pleased to say that she is actually doing pretty well. She really enjoys and looks forward to her class, she is bringing home papers with tons of perfect work and gold stars, and the best part is that I know her teacher is in tune with her struggles at home, and supports us.

Having a teacher that supports and understands a child who struggles with mental and emotional issues is no small thing. I read all over the other blogs about meetings filled with angry disagreement, and mostly school staffers who prefer to point fingers and add to the problem, instead of becoming part of the solution. We are fortunate we do not have that added stress with our daughter’s Kindergarten teacher.

I am hoping the year continues with the ease and pleasure our Cierra has seemed to get out of the first few weeks. We are going to need that factor later on. As we see how she progresses we will then decide how to introduce the concept of adoption, and open adoption to her classmates in the coming years. As anyone who has presented an adoption talk to their child’s classmates may know, it certainly adds a new dimension to the school experience. I want my daughter to keep growing in confidence in her school journey.

I admit that for an over easily excited child like Cierra, the introduction of the adoption topic will possibly add some stress and anxiety to her school experience. I want her to enjoy being there, as she does now, I don’t want to muck it up. I do know though that adoption will come up, and I am preparing for ways to address the topic and keep her on track with her positive progress. This is just the start of that journey.

With Cierra being in school all day now, this has also given her severely emotionally depleted mom time to recharge while she is away. As a result things go a bit smoother when we are all home together, some small part of the stress has been lifted. I admit I also am enjoying all the one-on-one that I am getting with her little brother while she is off enjoying her school day. This little guy is so easy going, and has always “filled my tank” as Nancy S. would say. For the very first time I am able to give him 100% of my attention and not feel badly, or have to tussle with an older sister who is in constant competition. Cierra’s beginning Kindergarten has been a good thing for little Carson too.

I have even discovered that my daughter is learning to handle stressful situations successfully at school! She had a few boys who were doing some teasing the first week, and she handled it VERY well. She told me about it the first day, we talked about how to best deal with what was going on, and to my delight her teacher reported she followed through exactly as planned, and with success! She told the boys it was not nice to say what they were saying, asked them to stop, and when they did not she informed the teacher and avoided the offenders till they learned their lesson. The teasing was nipped in the bud, and I was so proud of how she handled it. This gives me hope that she will also, eventually learn how to do the same things at home with her family.

My little RAD-ish is certainly growing in her Kindergarten experience early on! I have high hopes that eventually the RAD-ish will not be as noticeable as will be the beautiful flower of the girl I dearly love.

The Back To School, RAD Challenged, Morning Drives Begin!

Hope For The Future

The Trauma Drama

Photo: Copyright Deb Donatti 2007