Catherine commented on her blog that she would blog more often, but, since no one else was blogging, she felt it would be wrong, or something like that...and I know I follow some blogs that I get disappointed when they go a long time without updates.
I guess I feel uninspired............but, I am going to babble on about some things anyway...........no cute stories, no adorable pictures of my grandgirls, just life stuff.
Catherine:
She is still home, taking a leave from college. We have partial progress in a professional diagnosis of OCD..........how I missed it, I will never know, I told her I just thought she was being a pain in my rear when she would nag at me about "dumb things". Remember, this blog is my opinion! They would be little things, she would just seem to nag me about or come unglued. ie. If I take something out of the microwave before it is finished, she would just get ridiculous about the numbers left on the microwave. I would just think "if it bugs you, hit clear, and don't nag me!".........anyway, I could list other things, small things that might have been a sign, but the fact is, I missed it. And, to add, it was minimal in comparison. If you read about OCD, you find that 19 is the age where the "illness" becomes most prevalent. I have my own theories about why that age, but, again, just my opinion, and I will keep it to myself. [shock]
What has happened is that what was a small manageable, well hidden illness, became full blown this past semester. One of the things Catherine does is count letters. Count them to the point that reading or listening sometimes becomes impossible. She clinches her jaw, and tenses up. It makes her nuts.
We try to laugh about it when we can, she says she is "crazy", but, we both know she is not, and honestly, we both feel better having a name for what was causing her issues. The counselor was right on target when she said "the goal is to get you where you can manage the OCD and get back to the life you had/want/ deserve".
It is very hard to explain to others, what I see and have seen, and she is at a loss as well. How can someone explain something they don't understand. So, for the most part, we both just say "I don't know", because that is an honest answer. It is not us trying to avoid talking about it, or being in denial, it is truly the honest answer. She does not know why, when and how it will happen, but it happens frequently. She does feel the effects, I believe it is so much stress in her head, both brain wise and jaw clenching physically, that he thinks her head will explode. Other than that, if she does not know, I sure don't know. So, its not that we don't want to talk about it, but right now, there is just not much more to say.
One big blessing has been her boyfriend Justin.(funny part about my usage of "big" blessing, I should mention that Justin is 6'7" tall!, and in our short family, its like having the jolly green giant around!) Justin has been in and out of her life since Jr. High. They were drum majors together, and went to prom together, etc....broke up, got back together, you know that on off type of relationship. Catherine posted some entries in her online diary that go WAAYYY back about him and they are seriously funny, and sweet. Anyway, Justin knows she is "nuts" right now, and not only does he not care (you know, in a "I love you anyway" sort of don't care), but he is patient with her beyond belief.
It has been an adjustment for us both, her being back home for this long. She is pushing 20, and the last place she wants to be is home, but, we are both glad she knew this was the place to be right now in her life.