Kids
Today was a tale of two children for me.
First, my little monster, Marikko, was her cute little self today. Tam walked to the store with her and although I wasn't there to see it, Marikko apparently, upon seeing PriceSmart, turned around in the stroller with a huge grin on her face, and said,"Dada, work!" And once inside, when she saw me, she ran to me as fast as her little legs could carry her for a big hug. :) It definitely brightened my day, which was the 6th workday of 8 in a row, and most of them have not been what one would call remotely easy.
On the other hand, Chayla continues to have trouble getting comfortable with living with us, and following our rules. She seems to think that the world would be brighter if she wasn't here, and I'm not sure how to make her see what a mistake that would be. I mean, its not like her mother is any kind of parent at all, but Chayla would be able to spend hours on a computer and probably hang out with her boyfriend more, not to mention that school would be a non-issue. And don't even get me started on foster care, although I will relent and say that Shawnie has found some stability in it, which is a pleasant surprise.
Nonetheless, I feel like I'm failing in my role. I mean, I work all the time, it seems, and when I am home, I have Tam and Marikko demanding my time, not to mention the survival need to actually have some quiet time to myself (which I apparently can only get at 2:15am if this posting is any indication). And Chayla doesn't really do any of the things that we do (not that we do much). She's been an introvert from living with her mother, where her time would be spent on the computer or in her room, so she's not exactly a "family" person. Her discomfort with small children doesn't help. She loves Marikko, but isn't comfortable with her, which is something I would love to change. And she does get to go out a lot, which is something I wanted to encourage her to do, given her lack of a social life before. But that freedom is being taken advantage of, and I'll have to do something about it. The trouble is that she used to get in trouble for every little thing from her Mom, with insane punishment lengths to go with it, and I feel that I have to tread carefully to not have her see her mother all over again. She already feels persecuted, as most teens do, so this will be a nice tightrope to walk. But, she's had lots of breaks, and if she isn't going to take advantage of them, she'll have to be reined in.
*sigh* Teenagers! *sigh*
First, my little monster, Marikko, was her cute little self today. Tam walked to the store with her and although I wasn't there to see it, Marikko apparently, upon seeing PriceSmart, turned around in the stroller with a huge grin on her face, and said,"Dada, work!" And once inside, when she saw me, she ran to me as fast as her little legs could carry her for a big hug. :) It definitely brightened my day, which was the 6th workday of 8 in a row, and most of them have not been what one would call remotely easy.
On the other hand, Chayla continues to have trouble getting comfortable with living with us, and following our rules. She seems to think that the world would be brighter if she wasn't here, and I'm not sure how to make her see what a mistake that would be. I mean, its not like her mother is any kind of parent at all, but Chayla would be able to spend hours on a computer and probably hang out with her boyfriend more, not to mention that school would be a non-issue. And don't even get me started on foster care, although I will relent and say that Shawnie has found some stability in it, which is a pleasant surprise.
Nonetheless, I feel like I'm failing in my role. I mean, I work all the time, it seems, and when I am home, I have Tam and Marikko demanding my time, not to mention the survival need to actually have some quiet time to myself (which I apparently can only get at 2:15am if this posting is any indication). And Chayla doesn't really do any of the things that we do (not that we do much). She's been an introvert from living with her mother, where her time would be spent on the computer or in her room, so she's not exactly a "family" person. Her discomfort with small children doesn't help. She loves Marikko, but isn't comfortable with her, which is something I would love to change. And she does get to go out a lot, which is something I wanted to encourage her to do, given her lack of a social life before. But that freedom is being taken advantage of, and I'll have to do something about it. The trouble is that she used to get in trouble for every little thing from her Mom, with insane punishment lengths to go with it, and I feel that I have to tread carefully to not have her see her mother all over again. She already feels persecuted, as most teens do, so this will be a nice tightrope to walk. But, she's had lots of breaks, and if she isn't going to take advantage of them, she'll have to be reined in.
*sigh* Teenagers! *sigh*