I hope everyone liked the pictures of Emily’s graduation on my last blog. Especially the ones with Elizabeth in them!
It was quite a big day for us all both physically and mentally especially with what it meant to our lives.
Emily was done with medical school! We are so very proud of her.
Emily will be moving away for residency.
Elizabeth will be adjusting to these changes.
It is now June and here is the update for how things are going around here.
Emily has been in an out of the house since her graduation day. Doing mini trips and getting things done for her move and I have to say that Elizabeth has done really well overall until recently.
I think she does well when Emily has a return date set. Like on those mini trips, when she will tell me that “Emily will be home on Friday.” Or, “Saturday, we will see Emily again”
And she does well when Emily is actually gone for a duration, like when she left for 2 months for a certain rotation. It was then that Elizabeth started video chat dates with Emily once a week and she adjusted to the new normal in the house.
But it is when Emily is here but talking about going or when there are moving boxes around as constant reminders of what is really coming that she does NOT do well with. And the fact that I am showing some of my emotions at Emily moving out. So, suffice it to say we are living in this limbo scenario and Elizabeth is hanging on but JUUUUSSST by a bit.
I have noticed signs of her disorganization, shorter fuse and somewhat more of just…. I call it… prickliness. I know that due to her dyspraxia, when she is stressed, she will show the disorganization that we are seeing such as forgetting her super easy code to get into her phone, the one she has been doing great with for over 2 months, so many times that she was locked out of it and we had to factory reset the phone. THAT KIND OF DISORGANIZATION.
I asked her to run upstairs to get something and she flew up the steps, which initially I thought to be a quite nice response until I realized it was sheer irritation fueling that flat out run.
I have talked about her feelings often with her and she promised to talk to me whenever she needs to but those feelings are there, deep inside and they are big ones… She is seeing her best friend head out into the world. And I can’t help but wonder if she sometimes ponders why SHE isn’t going into the world or why SHE isn’t driving or why SHE has to ask for help all the time.
I know she has some of these feelings but I think these are some questions that she and I will be digging into soon. Just not yet, because truth be told, I just don’t have the emotional reserve for that.
Not yet.
But soon.
We are headed on vacation soon and I think the beach will be a perfect place to restore her emotions and mine as well.
Then when we get home to the new normal that will be for a while, we will dig in.
Elizabeth’s disorder are ones that can lay mostly dormant for a while but are always there. We are seeing them now and I pray for her peace to let them go dormant as much as possible once again.
I wish everyone a peaceful month and welcome to summer!
Michele Gianetti
I Believe in You: A Mother and Daughter’s Special Journey
Elizabeth Believes in Herself: The Special Journey Continues
Emily’s Sister
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