Vacuum

One of the things with having a blog and writing about a child with difficult behaviours, is that I don't always know how much to share. If I came running down here every time I had a challenging situation, I'd be constantly writing woe-is-me posts and that would be tiresome to read. On the other hand, I'm largely writing this blog for myself, to remember. Why I can't seem to do this in a personal journal, I don't know. But personal journals and me just don't seem to last. So, I come on here and write to whoever will listen.

Having said that...

Finleigh is being a special kind of wonderful today. She's been yelling or crying or throwing things much of the time she's been awake this morning. Nearly everything I say has set her off. I'm sure she's picking up on my stress as I rush around trying to get 5 people's laundry done, clean the house, and pack.

Yes, I am finding things stressful right now. I will not lie.

Not that her behaviours help.

One of the most challenging behaviours for me is when Finleigh says she wants to do something. Then she doesn't want to do it. Then she does again. This can go back and forth for quite awhile.

Today, this happened with vacuuming.

She wants to help, so I let her to plug it in. Then she doesn't want to plug it in. Then she does. I leave to clear the floor in the bathroom. Then she plugs it in. And all is well until I turn it on. She will have none of that, so she pulls the plug out - at a 90 degree angle - and now I have a loose plug.

I plug it back in and start to vacuum. She wants to help. No she doesn't. Yes she does.

Okay Finleigh, here you go. I hand her the vacuum. She covers her ears and runs away yelling.

So I keep vacuuming. She keeps asking to help and then getting upset. Then she gets in the bathtub with her sandy, dirty feet thanks to never wearing shoes and her time in the sandbox.

Then she gets out and I have to wipe up her footprints before I can vacuum over that spot. This continues a few more times. I send her to her bedroom.

On the way there, she throws a vacuum attachment down the stairs. She goes into her room and then comes back out with a half a dozen hard cover books and also throws these down the stairs. Or at least that is what I would surmise. I didn't see these antics, I just noticed the evidence afterwards.

Why I don't just stop vacuuming? Well because I just want to get the carpet vacuumed!!! All I need is 30 minutes. Tops.

And if all that weren't bad enough, my husband is working nights tonight and so is sleeping two floors down. I do not want to wake him up, but I really, really want to get the vacuuming done.

One thing off my list. Just one thing.

I finally get sick of playing the vacuum game - because you know that she didn't stay in her room - and figure its not worth waking Brian up. So I quit. I leave the vacuum in the room and close the door.

Now she's happily playing in her room (or at least I hope that's what she's doing. She may be in my room playing with the vacuum cleaner) and I'm down here complaining. She won and that irks me. How I hate being limited and dictated to by her behaviours.

Hate it.

But, I suppose, the floor will get vacuumed and if it doesn't the world will not end.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's lunch time. I'd better go feed my kids.