"the cat ate it"

Rachel had a good morning today! I think it might have something to do with the fact that it is light outside when she gets up. Or not. Just a guess. She said "I'm not going. It's broken." as she got out of bed, but it was said with a lighter sound in her voice, not sad or angry. When we went into the bathroom to brush her hair she said "My hair is gone." I asked her where it was and she said "The cat ate it." Her younger brother is allergic to cats and so we have never had one, nor do I think that cats typically eat hair, so I've no idea where that came from, but it made me laugh (and she didn't get upset that I was laughing). I was brushing her teeth when Daddy said "The bus is here!" She said/yelled  (with a mouth full of toothpaste) "Not here!" I realize that all these comments sound negative, but that's just what she does lately for some reason. Her tone was more conversational than unhappy, and I absolutely love to hear her talk!

Yesterday afternoon I went in to see what she was doing and she looked up at me, a little teary, and said "You broke my heart! You hurt my feelings! Quit biting my finger!" I hugged her and got her to calm down, and then she seemed fine. No clue where all that came from, but after a bite of chocolate, a hug, and looking outside for a bit she was happy again. 

There is a group for teenagers who have special needs in our area. They meet every Thursday night for an hour and a half. Each special needs teenager is paired off with a teenager who is volunteering their time, and they sing songs and have fun activities. (Actually, the group is for people 12 and older, so it isn't just limited to teenagers, but I think most of the volunteer kids are 12-18, and then there are adults that run the program.) For a long time we've been thinking about taking Rachel, but in the past it has seemed like school was enough. She would come home tired and really wanting to have "quiet time." Lately I've been thinking that she would enjoy it, and I have an amazing friend who goes and helps every week, so last night Rachel attended for the first time. She loved it. Again, most of her responses were "negative," but she smiled and talked about "friends" last night as I put her to bed. I am so grateful for the people who volunteer their time to help make our lives a little happier. It's good for her to be involved with other people and get to do things in groups. Lots of people know Rachel from school, and I think they are disappointed when she doesn't respond to them in social settings. She just doesn't lately. Not even family members she's known and loved her whole life. I hope it doesn't hurt their feelings or keep them from trying to interact with her and others. It's just part of who she is right now. Hopefully she'll come out of it again and interact with people better, but I don't have the slightest idea of how to spur that on. In the meantime, I know that having people come up to her and talk to her really makes a difference in her life, whether she responds at the time or not. As I mentioned earlier she talked quite a bit about her friends last night as I was putting her to bed. She really does notice and enjoy the interactions.

It seems like we're on a bit of an upswing. I hope we can keep the momentum going! Happy is so, so, so much better than sad!