We just got back from a week long stay in St. Lucia. My husband earned the trip through work and we made it a family vacation, taking all 3 kids and my mom and step-dad as well.
Now, before you start thinking that I'm whining or complaining about spending a week on a tropical island in the middle of the Caribbean in February, that's not it. Not at all. We had a good time and it was a blessing. I know full well that my prayer warriors were storming Heaven's Gates with cries out to God on our behalf. Our week away could have been so much worse, and I only attribute our lack of disaster to those very prayers that were heard by our very gracious God.
But traveling with a RAD child isn't for the faint of heart. And that's what this post is all about.
Air Travel
UGH! My girl could not sit and do just one thing on the airplane. I packed 3 things to keep her occupied. Not too many to overwhelm her, just enough to do something for a while, then switch after a while. Nope. I should have taken video, friends. My daughter may have sat still in her plane seat, but gosh, she couldn't concentrate on 1 thing for more than 10 minutes. Watching her was exhausting. She'd take out her dot-to-dot book, work on it for 5 minutes, then put it away. After that it was onto the in-flight games that come free on the screen on the back of the seat in front of her. Even that didn't hold her attention for longer than 10 minutes. She loves to read, yet she couldn't sit and read the Beverly Cleary book I packed for her. Even a movie on the screen didn't entertain her. She played and fidgeted with the screen, bouncing back and forth between movies, TV shows and music. Even when told to pick one thing and leave it, she couldn't.
I think I need to have her tested for ADD. Seriously.
Fun Times = Scary Times
Don't mistake my girl's seemingly fun time as just that. In fact, having that kind of fun overwhelms her. It scares her and she takes control into her own hands. On the first night there she pooped in her pants and told no one. I didn't even know it until the next morning when I found the poop covered underpants hidden in her suitcase filled with clean clothes. I wanted to catch the next plane out of there and go to my OWN tropical island and leave my family behind. I didn't tell anyone what she did, not even my husband. I couldn't let his earned trip be ruined. So, I dealt with it solo and tried to mask my frustration and anger with fake smiles. But less than 24 hours there and I was done.
On day 3 we had a company dinner. Again, my daughter was having fun with new friends she made on the trip, but that fun spiraled out of control. As she was running around, I noticed that the back of her skorts was wet. She didn't sit in anything. She wet her pants. Again, the feeling of having fun with friends made her feel out of control, so she took control into her own hands and wet herself. Had I not noticed, she would have gone on playing in wet pants all night. But instead, I grabbed her by her wrist and dragged her back to our room where I made her get in the tub and wash her clothes and herself. At home, she would have raged at me for making her clean her clothes. At the resort, she just did it with only a little whining.
On the last night's celebration dinner, again, after a firm reminder that there were bathrooms right near the restaurant and wetting and pooping herself were not acceptable, I found her pants rather damp. She had started to wet herself again, but she did stop. So, that was progress. A step in the right direction. I guess. But what mom has to remind her 8 year old child to stop wetting and pooping herself? A RAD mom, that's who.
The Aftermath
But re-entry has been pretty ugly. At school early this week, oh did she pull a few numbers! I received a call from the school on Tuesday that my daughter didn't have a lunch. They asked me if they should feed her from the cafeteria line. Um, no, that account had been long since closed because of food-related issues. Turns out, the girl ate her ENTIRE LUNCH on the bus immediately after eating a FULL BREAKFAST at home just minutes before getting on said bus. She had to have been stuffed to the gills! When she came home, she absolutely refused to fess up and tell me what happened.
In the midst of dealing with that, I received an email from the teacher asking me what she wants me to tell QT's classmates about her changing schools in two weeks. EXCUSE ME???? This was a new one. Seems the girl had told all her friends that in 2 weeks she is switching schools. Not a chance. I assured the teacher, who had fully believed the lies, that we have no intention of pulling her from the school whatsoever. She, in turn, had to go ease the minds of QT's friends who were sad to hear that she'd be leaving. Good gosh.
At home, I've had a raging, maniacally laughing, out of control child.
This will be her last trip for quite some time!
