Tuesday, September 21, 2010

One Day at a Time

It's entirely possibly that I'm paranoid.  Or maybe I just borrow trouble.  I read up on kids and bi-polar disorder last night.  Absolutely every "symptom" that my granddaughter is having could very easily be attributed to her grief or to puberty.  That is, all except for her recent lying, which is not listed as a symptom and could just be a way to get attention in all that has happened in her life.  The child has been through hell and is still on the journey back. 

You see it was the whopper of a lie she told me as she cried the other night on the phone that set all of my "bi-polar" bells and whistles off because it reminded me so much of her mother's actions and her mother was bi-polar.  I still have a lot to learn, it seems.  Anyway, my granddaughter has no idea what damage a lie of that magnitude could do.  In this day and age, it is absolutely frightening.  (I did try to explain it to her last night, but I'm sure she doesn't get it.  I'll try again when I see her in person.)

So, I will continue to pray. I will continue to talk on the phone and listen to her cry. I will visit often. I will try not to borrow trouble. I will trust in the therapist, when all falls into place and she gets one again. (It takes time to get appointments in the military, it can be very frustrating.) I will not compare her to her mother. That will be tough, especially if the lying continues.  I will not jump to conclusions and I will learn more about bi-polar disorder. 

* I do know that there are millions of people with bi-polar disorder who lead perfectly normal lives and function well in society.  This has not been what I have personally seen in my own family with this disorder and I am not speaking of your situation ever when I speak of it here.  I wish we had been that fortunate. 

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