Oops!

I have a confession to make. The morning got a little off track today and I forgot to give Jonas his ADHD medicine. I remembered it after I dropped him off at school and spent the rest of my day with my fingers crossed. I didn't see him outside when I dropped the girls off at school after lunch, and thought "Uh oh!". My brain raced with bad news scenarios and then I saw him playing happily with his friends.  Phew!

He didn't take his medicine on the weekend because we were go go go all day at camp. He did pretty well with all the fresh air and exercise, and except for one meltdown over a poker game he did great. (That's an entirely different story. Let's just say seven year olds and playing poker with chips don't mix.) I was hoping today would have the same outcome. They've been getting extra physical activity at school this week because of all the snow, and today was another fun day, with lots of gym, singing and dancing. It makes a real difference when he gets to be active. The more he excerices, the better he seems to be able to concentrate. 

He ended up having a pretty good day. His teacher said he mostly did a good job. He also did a great job at home, except for a little meltdown at homework time with Dad after dinner. I think that's better attributed to his academic frustrations than missing his meds. Of course, I'd prefer to give him his meds consistently every day but things happen sometimes. We don't expect perfection, but it's always nice when he does well.

After school, we talked about how the day went and he was very proud of how he behaved. When I asked him to help me remind him about his pill tomorrow, he said "Maybe I don't need it any more mom. I can be a good boy without it".  That kind of broke my heart. We've been very careful about how we frame this medicine for him. I explained to him again that he's not taking medicine because he's a bad boy, but rather because it helps him focus better in school. It's not a magic pill. He still needs to work hard sometimes to make smart decisions and do the right thing, and we have to work hard to be patient and creative to find ways to help him.

While talking to a friend yesteday, I described the medication by saying that it's like it lifts a fog that's around him. It helps the messages get through a little better, but it's still a challenge. All and all though, it was a good day, and I'll take it!

Cheers!