Normal is not an Option

We went to therapy yesterday.  The closest attachment therapist we found is 2 ½ hours away, and I take three kids for a three hour session, one kiddo right after the other (with time for mom and the therapist to talk first).  Needless to say, therapy days are very long and very, very exhausting.

The issues my kids are dealing with very difficult issues.  Just hearing what happened to them makes me want to go hire my own therapist for the day after their therapy sessions, just so I can process it for myself.  I can’t even imagine having actually gone through those things.  It doesn’t seem fair that these young children should have had to go through the things they have.  It makes me want to whoop some….well, you know.

I tell my kids frequently that it really stinks that they have to deal with the things that they went through.  But….I tell them that it’s kind of like a hit and run accident.  You’re driving down the road, minding your own business, when someone smashes into your car and drives off.  Was it your fault that your car got smashed?  Nope.  But, do you have to be the one who gets it fixed?  Unfortunately, yes.  It would be wonderful if everyone took ownership of their behavior and was responsible for the mess they have made in someone else’s life.  That’s just now how life turns out, though.  We sometimes have to fix things that other people break.  Not fair.  Not right.  But that is part of life.

Some therapy days, I come back, tired as usual, but not feeling like we made huge strides.  Other times, you feel like a child has just unloaded the biggest secret they’ve ever shared with anyone up until that point.  The one they’ve held onto all this time.  The secret that has kept them in their pain.  Yesterday was one of those days.

I was so proud of one of my kiddos.  Yesterday my daughter dealt with issues that would be hard for an adult to deal with.  It took courage and bravery.  Afterward, you could see the big grin across her face, and I swear she was pounds lighter walking out of that session.  Yesterday was a reminder to me.  “Oh yea.  This is why I do what I do.”  Now, really I do what I do for one reason, and that is because God had called me to parent three wounded kids.  Aside from that, though, I get the added bonus of watching these kids heal and move past the horror of what they’ve been through.  Today was one of those days that made all of the difficulty we’ve gone through for the past month seem like nothing.  It was a victory.  As I looked into her face, I saw hope, relief, and a glimpse of freedom.  It was a good day.