Today when I picked up Olive from school, her teacher was excited to tell me that although there had been some anxiety around lunch time, Olive went the whole day with no impulsive behaviors (spitting, hair pulling, breaking things deliberately).
No impulsive behaviors? We had been hoping for reduced behaviors or even greatly reduced behaviors, but the thought of no impulsive behaviors whatsoever elevates the day's performance to the level of parlor trick. It's like hearing someone play a piano transcription of the William Tell Overture without hitting a single wrong note. Impressive, and yet, such a rarity that it seems more fluke than accomplishment.
I have long given up stopping my heart from soaring when Olive has a good day, and now I just run with the good mood. There may be a crash later, but that crash will not be prevented by forbidding myself today's flood of euphoria.
In moments of time-stopping happiness, I find myself reminded of my favorite book when I was little. It was called The Cat is in the Box and went something like this:
The cat is in the box.
The box is on a chair.
The chair is in the parlor.
The parlor is in a house.
The house is on a street with five trees.
The street with five trees is in a city...and so forth until we finally get all the way out to the universe.
Then the book works backwards: In the universe there is a solar system.
In the solar system there is a planet called Earth.
On the planet called Earth there is a continent, until eventually we're back in the parlor, looking at that little grey cat in a box on a chair.
Today I took my camera out and did a small portion of my version of the book.
There is a spaniel with brown spots.
The spaniel with brown spots is lying on a sweater.
The sweater is on a green bench.
The green bench is in the entryway.
The entryway is in a house.
The house is on a street with yellow trees.
Just what was it it I found so reassuring about that little book? Like most children, the question I usually asked was why. And nine times out of ten, the answer was unsatisfying. My runner-up question, being the child of older parents and much older siblings who always seemed to be moving more slowly than I wanted to, was when? When do we go to the park?
Later. Soon.
Are we there yet?
Almost-almost.
But where is a question that can almost always be answered: Norman, Oklahoma. In a sleeper car on a train going from Paris to Nuremberg. The Piggly-Wiggly. Eustis, Florida. Home.
Here are your instructions on how to get there. You used to be over there, but now you are here. What you used to call here is now there, but rest assured that the place where you are now has a name. It is inside another place that has a name, and that place is in yet a larger place that also has a name. All the places have names, and all the names can be known.
Today, I know where I am.
Today was a good day - a really good day. And I'm glad that that can be enough, because *this day* was wonderful, whether it lasts or not. Today was good. :)
It's a bucket full of beefaroni kind of day. ;)
Posted by: Michelle | October 06, 2011 at 10:29 PM
It feels like I said the word day 300 times in that last comment. :\
Posted by: Michelle | October 06, 2011 at 10:31 PM
smilers-smilers
Posted by: Tamara | October 06, 2011 at 10:41 PM
Whew.
So glad this is making a difference. Good for Olive - and SO good for you!
blessings and warm hugs
S
Posted by: CrazyMomTats! | October 07, 2011 at 09:04 AM
what a joy! I do hope it lasts.
Posted by: Gail | October 07, 2011 at 09:13 AM
peace.
Posted by: Paula | October 07, 2011 at 11:29 AM
Lovely. Enjoy the day. Yay for Olive-Olive!
Posted by: kmkat | October 07, 2011 at 12:37 PM
What stood out most to me in your post was of course that Olive had a wonderful day at school!! So great to hear!!!
Interestingly, what stood out next was when you mentioned that you were the child of "older" parents. I have to admit that I never thought of your mom (my aunt Irma) as being an "older" parent. I think she was perhaps 36 when you were born. That was the age I was when my twins were born and I certainly hope they don't think of me as an "older" parent. :)
Posted by: Jean | October 07, 2011 at 06:50 PM
FYI - this made me think of the song, The Green Grass Grew All Around
Oh, the feather on the bird,
And the bird in the nest,
And the nest on the leaf,
And the leaf on the twig,
And the twig on the bough,
And the bough on the branch,
And the branch on the limb,
And the limb on the tree,
and the tree in a hole
And the hole in the ground
And the green grass grew all around, all around
And the green grass grew all around
Posted by: CrazyMomTats! | October 08, 2011 at 10:37 AM
:-)
Posted by: Amelia | October 10, 2011 at 05:46 AM