Embrace the crazy...

Tonight... we embraced the crazy and it was truly fabulous!

We had a very difficult day yesterday. Faith said goodnight to her beloved bunny for the very last time... and sent her home to be with Jesus. She held her fluffy little bunny and cried, and explored her lifeless body, talking about how "last morning Jersey's toes walked... and hopped!" She kissed her and hugged her and we said goodbye...

Today was a very difficult day with all of that stress and grief raging inside of her. Her sensory-seeking behaviors were just plain old unmanageable. She screamed, she bounced off of the walls, and she screamed some more... but finally, after dinner, I waved the white flag and truly embraced the crazy. I put Jeremiah to bed, and then I said to Faith, "let's play a game..."

Soon she was nestled in a sheet, being swung back and forth with as much force as we could muster. We rolled her up like a burrito and unfurled the sheet so she came tumbling out. Then we swung her some more. Her giggles were contagious.

Finally, we popped some popcorn and watched a movie, then I carried her up to bed (unmedicated!!), laid her in her new bed (a crib, complete with a soothing electric blanket), and started our new bedtime calming ritual. I rubbed her back, her feet, massaged her scalp... and in no time flat, she was sound asleep. The only time she's ever truly still.

It feels good! It feels so good to know that my little girl drifted off to sleep, peaceful and happy, not because her medication forced her to, but because her needs were so well satisfied that she was able to welcome sleep on her own, knowing that her mama and daddy love her with all their hearts!

So perhaps I need to remember to embrace the crazy a little more often. After all, in this house, it is the only way to stay sane...