The Amazing Genea....

Trumpets blaring !!
We all went out to dinner the other night to a great little restaurant that has on Sundays, free kids meals and adults get a free order of cupcakes as dessert. The girls have gotten much better at restaurants lately although you still get a set amount of time. You know, like they can go about 40 minutes on their own and can stay and behave for up to 50 minutes if heavily entertained. But if we spend 15 minutes waiting for a table, that is counted into the total allotted minutes. Anyway, they have stopped throwing things and banging on the tables. I remember being horrified with them at Old Country Buffet, they were yelling and banging and throwing stuff, and hit some older ladies. Fortunately, my girls cuteness gets them out of a lot of trouble on the outside. The ladies thought it was hilarious and commented they were SO HAPPY neither lady was in my shoes and their kids were grown up. LOL!

So there is 5 of us for dinner and we were about halfway through. Genea had inhaled her mac and cheese and some bread. We were all eating and the server came to check on us and when she did, this is what happened.

Genea: Can I have another orange juice please?
Server: Of course
Me, The Husband, The MIL: nothing. we say nothing because we are all so stunned that Genea did that.
Pause again.
Stare.
Me: oh, yeah sure she can have another one, thanks.

Ok, this is my kid with all the crazy problems including massive social fears and new people fears and talking to people fears, and she just ordered herself a drink!!!!!!!!!!!

I know it looks totally lame written out now that I am reading it. But BELIEVE me, this is a huge step for her. I was so proud of her!
Although, she is not allowed to binge on liquids and knew she probably shouldn't have done that but I gave her an inch because the issue has never come up before in a restaurant.

Genea got an invitation in the mail to a classmates birthday party! I think all the girls in the class are invited. I already feel like I swallowed barbed wire I am so nervous for her just thinking about it. I theoretically know she will be fine, but it has wracked my nerves because what if she gets into a situation that freaks her out and she can't figure out what to do because her brain does not work that way and she melts down and ruins the party and has the stigma of being the kid that loused up the Fairy Princess Party until she graduates from high school!!!!!!
(ok I know I am reaching here but I like to look at the big picture as well as the small picture and it could really happen don't you remember the kid that pee'd in kindergarten or puked in class or ate the paste and glue cuz I DO TOO! TIM G. I remember you!! And Mark F. you too!!)

Only Genea's room teacher knows her background. Oh yea and the useless counselor (when she has a meltdown the counselor suggest we have her focus on a pen right like I am going to hand Genea a weapon in the middle of a fit). I don't really want to tell anyone else anything they don't need to know and for now, Genea is 'passing' as a regular kid and I do not want to wreck that for her. But sending her to someone else's house and leaving her there..... who else did that.... her last parents who then left her...we had all kinds of nice little home visits when we were transitioning, what if she flashes back!

Ah, I am sure she will be fine. She has come so far and learned so much. These are just the things I think about and worry for her.

So Genea lost another tooth. It kills me, just kills me, that she accepts her teeth tumbling out of her mouth with blood involved and a big fat hole in her jaw and it is no big deal to her. This kid has a whopping tantrum over any old little thing. She rarely, if ever, gets food on her face eating because she can feel even the tiniest little blip of sauce on her skin and she always wipes it off or licks it off but she about always feels it because her sensory system is set on extra super turbo high. She practically collapses in fear for her life demanding immediate medical intervention for a speck on her skin and insists on band-aids and splints and slings for days. She limps around if she bumps her hand. But a tooth? Ah well.