Been a while . . .

(McCartney ringing in the New Year)

It's been a rough holiday season for us here at Chez Rouse. I think I have struggled therefore the whole house has struggled. I am in a weird place right now with Dustin. We have some new supports and he has been testing his limits with them. Testing like we haven't seen in a long time! We tried to switch around some sleeping arrangements and that was a complete FAIL. I am glad we did a test run before we moved tons of furniture around and over two levels of the house. It was difficult for me to accept the failure of the sleeping situation, but it is what it is. Robert knew it wouldn't work, but I am thankful he gave the chance to prove it to myself.

(Harrison ringing in the New Year)

If I was completely honest with myself I would see that most of the difficulties we have had lately is of my own making. I tend to sabotage success sometimes due to my OCD. I am getting a grasp on that and really feel as though I am making a comeback in that area of my life. My husband is an angel. He puts up with so much of my craziness and does it with such a giving spirit. We have come a long way in our marriage and relationship. I think as we have gotten older we have definitely mellowed out. I need some more mellowing, but I recognize that! I realize that if Robert was not the man he is, we would not be able to raise Dustin. He is so calm and so patient and so very unemotional about most things. He is fabulous at being his primary caregiver, a job I could never do!

(Bowling on New Year's Eve)

It seems that once every three months or so we did not switch up how we deal with Dustin and his issues. I am not certain whether we fall into a different pattern and we need to take a new direction, or his behaviors dictate new interventions or a combination of both, but it seems we need to struggle and struggle and hit the wall before we change direction and do something new. I wish we could see that and make the change before we hit that wall, but alas it never seems to happen. Right now we are pulling out of the U-turn after the crash into the wall and are limping to a new direction. Hopefully that new route will take us sailing into Spring.

(Hanging in the WiFi section at Grandma's LOL)

I have also been dealing with wicked case of strep. If you have been a reader here for any length of time, you will recall that I am a strep carrier and get hit hard with strep. This one knocked me on my butt, but I am making a quick comeback. It has allowed me to loose a few pounds and I plan to keep it off. When the weather lets up in a few weeks I plan on making the Couch to 5K program a part of my life. I am excited about it, we shall see how that shapes up for this asthmatic. I think running is good option for me since I can do it in peace and without kids! Woot! In the past the only time I have run is if someone is chasing me so it should be quite a feat if I succeed! I am expecting all of you to hold me to it.

(That smile is worth every minute of trouble!)