LuLu is using her extra nanosecond of self-control in the right direction. She has a “thing” about plastic bags, especially trash bags. Her obsession on trash bags is a weird amalgam of trauma memories and sensory stimulation and was part of what got her in trouble with me the other late night.

What I didn’t realize until yesterday was that she’s fascinated, obsessed with…or tempted…by a trash bag in our living room that holds our Christmas tree skirt. During a break from classwork yesterday, she ran upstairs to be able to “squeak on” the trash bag. This is what she calls running her hand across the plastic for it to make a loud annoying noise. Then she giggles nearly maniacally.

Hearing what was going on upstairs, I announced my presence as I ascended from the basement room classroom. LuLu, realizing that she had impulsively done the wrong thing, said in a truly earnest voice:

“Mom, will you put this trash bag up so I won’t be tempted?”

And there you have it…the girl is figuring it out. If you’re highly impulsive and that impulsivity gets you in trouble, remove the temptation! Now why didn’t I think of that!

Actually, I had thought of it, and in fact had cleared the house of many things she obsesses about before her return from the hospital. Some she’s noticed are gone and has inquired about them. Perhaps my honest, matter-of-fact answer that we threw those items away so she would quit getting stuck on them helped her decide to adopt the same strategy?

Whatever has made her figure out that she needs to avoid temptation is a good thing. And it’s fine with me if she wants to call on me to remove the forbidden fruit, so she can concentrate on calming her impulses.

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