it’s been 17 days since Izzys self harm…she’s worked really hard at getting herself through her days and getting back to her happy, silly self. Noah has continued to call and text and Izzy has continued to ignore him as completely as possible. Life got a whole lot easier tonight tho…we got the news that Noah is moving schools! God answered those prayers! This is a huge positive for Izzy, and, I pray, a better solution for Noah. We blocked his number on her phone and we are moving forward. I cannot thank my Circle of support and Izzys village for the love and support through these last 3 weeks. You have listened, advised, loved and listened some more. You’ve asked the hard questions, given the hard answers and reminded me a butter sock to the head of a crazy mom who is also trying to do best for her own kid, while funny as heck, isn’t the answer to our problems. I will tell Izzy what I told Jackson when he broke up with Sammy 2 yrs ago….no dating until Grad school. 🤪 (note: he didn’t listen to my directive)

I am thankful for Izzys Teacher of Record through all of this Noah business. While Noah needed accommodations, he didn’t have them in place and therefore Izzy had a bit of an easier road than he did on the days he went to school. Her easier road is paved by Ms Marsh who communicates so well with me and who has her finger on the pulse of Izzys anxieties and needs. She does a gratitude journal with Izzy daily to help center her day around the good that’s in her life. She helped her through the panic attacks of walking into a classroom where Noah was sitting. She alerted me on a daily basis how Izzy maneuvered through her day. I am so thankful for the IEP Mrs Clarey wanted for Izzy, i believe it has made this year flow so much better.

In other news, Izzy got a haircut last week-her regrowth was so much that we had to trim it…it wasn’t fitting under her wig well and it was SO frizzy. And since then, her pulling has gone into SuperDrive, or maybe I can just see the evidence of it so much easier now. So many new bald spots. I hope it settles down now that Noah will truly not be in her life any longer. But I know he wasn’t her only trigger, and I know she will continue to pull. And I know that it’s ok no matter what. We’ve lived with this for a year now, we’ve accepted the trich and I think we’ve gotten to the point that we don’t address the trich as much as we address the reason for the trich. When I point out her pulling, which is probably less than 1/2 the time, I’ve moved from “Izzy stop pulling” to “Izzy, do you know what is causing your pulling right now?” If she can identify the trigger, maybe I can help redirect her to a tool she’s learned in OT.

We have so many new people to be thankful for this thanksgiving season…Vicki and Tatia at A Work in Progress; Lainie, Izzys friend who also has trich and is a constant source of kindness, love and laughter; Izzys new school friends; and our new professionals Dr Sanders and Dr Kledzik. God keeps providing us with the people we need in order to navigate this life of adhd, autism, anxiety and depression.

And of course we’re thankful for all of you. You are our village, and we couldn’t do this life without each of you in our village! Happy Thanksgiving to our amazing village 🍁🦃