Over whelmed – Tues 19th July 2016
By Jeannette | July 19, 2016
A lesson learnt today for me. That I can’t assume.
I’ve been super proud of D this last school year, she’s achieved and pushed herself in activities so much but sometimes it all collapses a bit, when anxieties and her stranger fear gets a bit too much.
I’d hoped that we’d have a girly trip to town, it’s something that we don’t do that often but is (usually) fun. We’d have a little window shop for glittery pinky/purple items and “ooh” and “aah” at them, before lunch and some browsing. With the majority of schools still not broken up, it would have seemed to be good timing.
Wrong. On so many levels. She bolted, she protested, she walked right out of shops – despite that being one of the “don’ts” that I’d hoped she understood.
The triggers were frequent: someone being too close to her (even though they weren’t); the noise of an alarm, the occupied lift (she won’t and can’t use an escalator), the roadworks and the bank. Oh the bank, the one place where you need to concentrate specifically. Too many people coming out when we were going in, fortunately not too many around when she shouted out “Mumma, I know your PIN, it’s ****”…. the gentle explanation as to why we need to keep PIN numbers secret which wasn’t met well and a bolt outside the bank and yes, more strangers.
The air con was in full force everywhere so I can’t factor in the heat as there was a breeze too, it was just one of those days where I had prepared her all I could and it just didn’t gel. It happens.
All seemingly forgotten as she splashed around in the pool later on, but I know today has tainted any future shopping trips, for a while anyway.
It’s a shame it’s come at the start of the holidays but, bearing in mind it will get more populated in town, maybe that option is closed off for a while. We’ll see.
C’est la vie.
Leave Your Comment