It has been a bit of a hard week. The younger two kids started school, and since (among other things) we were having a very hard time with bedtimes, we decided to make a switch in room arrangements. That got J very upset, and there was one night that he shouted and pounded and threw things for several hours before finally settling. Every night since has been a struggle (and he is yet unwilling to sleep in the new room). That means everybody at our house is short sleep, and there’s a certain amount of crankiness going on.
On the other hand, we’ve managed to get out of the house a couple of times for short bike trips (J initiated two of them). We’ve done some side-by-side meal preparation. We’ve been enjoying playing with the dog (and have been working on being gentle and talking kindly). We had another backyard fire in the fire pit. J has made a space for himself in our living room (putting up shelves and an arrangement with chains to corral electronics cords), so at least when he camps out, he’s in the midst of us. There have been at least a couple of positive connections with him every day.
B and K have each had their struggles as well, but I think school starting has been a good thing for them. We’ve also been working on getting a little individual time with each of them, and it has been nice to connect with all of our kids.
So, we’re still hanging in there. Sometimes it feels like we’re hanging by our fingernails, but we’re hanging in there.