Over the weekend, a young man from our church came to repair the remaining holes in our drywall (in the hallway near LuLu’s room). These are the last remnants of LuLu’s destruction of our house. It has been more than six months (late March) since any part of our house has been destroyed. A cause for celebration…maybe?

I’m thrilled we’ve reached this point as it has been a real hot button of mine to have my house destroyed, possessions thrown and broken, holes punched in drywall, windows kicked out, closet doors torn off. That was “the old LuLu.”

So, I proudly announced to LuLu this weekend that perhaps we could have a celebration of having such a long time with no collateral damage to the house. She was thrilled, of course, as most kids are with the idea of a party of sorts. But it wasn’t long until her OCD and other things kicked in.

“What if I’m not able to stop from damaging the house in the future?” was the overriding question.

Plus, I had made the comment that now our house could go back to being a “happy house”, one without obvious signs of damage. Her next question cut right to the core:

“When did it used to be a happy house, Mom?”

Hmmm...good question. Truth of the matter was there wasn’t a time in the last eight years that she’s lived with us when the house didn’t exhibit some sign of LuLu’s destructive rage. How could I answer that one honestly and still send the positive message I was intending.

When caught in that proverbial rock and hard place, I always opt for honesty. Some things you can’t always sugar coat

“Well, dear, the house is happy when things aren’t broken in anger. And now that you’ve learned to control your anger better, the house can go back to being happy.”

Seemed to satisfy her.

Yet...today LuLu has struggled to do her school work. She had a fun weekend, playing with a newly made friend and helping around the house, plus spending the last of her birthday money. The “let down” from all this, coupled with the angst she feels over the celebration/happy house issue has been too much for her. (That and she insisted on eating ranch dressing for lunch yesterday, and since her behaviors have been so go, I acquiesced on the casein-free).

So, we have a child who wanted to spin the chair in circles today instead of finish her spelling sentences. One who would rather draw pictures on her math paper than compute the answers. And one who has argued with me countless times over every little suggestion, instruction or full-out order. She’s grunting, whining and was sent to her room for slamming a closet door (after all, we don’t need house destruction). GRRR…

Suddenly, I don’t feel much like celebrating. But the silver lining is that she bounces back from these whiney episodes quickly these days, and did finish her school assignments despite all her dysregulation. Besides, I am truly glad to have walls on the mend.