Princie's Puzzle Peace

I owe some of you a great, big thank you. If I could give you a giant squeeze of love, I would! Thank you to those of you who pray. Thank you to those of you who may not pray, but never fail to send loving, peaceful thoughts my way. It's working Snarkettes, it is working!

I've hesitated sharing this because I'm afraid if I put it out there, I'm just asking for trouble. Just asking for a "jinx", or something of that nature. But my next thought is always this: I will not live in fear of the unknown and the what-ifs. I did that for many years, and really no good ever came of it. And anyway, I like to think I have more faith than that. Surely my verbalizing something, or putting it on this blog does not hold such power. That's what the rational me says. But the not-so-faithful, not-so-rational me says beware the verbalizing or writing of the good news. So, in spite of the nagging negative whisper in my crazy head and in honor of the rational, faithful me....Here goes......

It's been 28, that's right, 28 days since Princie had one of the dreaded, massive, heartwrenching, wear-us-down-to-the-bone meltdowns. Of course we have miles to go, but considering where we started, I find this to be no small feat! Can you believe it? I can. Because I believe in the power of prayer and good vibes. And I am grateful to those of you who have compassionately prayed for and thought of my family recently. Honestly, I wasn't sure I could handle all that's happening in our lives right now, plus Princie's struggle. In all honesty, I was pretty sure I was going to crack (and it was going to be sooner rather than later, and oh so ugly). For those of you who have a child with sensory issues, etc. and have prayed relentlessly, with no relief from the meltdowns and struggles, please know my heart hurts for you. As I have mentioned time and time again on this blog, I don't understand why things work the way they do. I don't understand why Princie can go 28 days with no meltdown, but another child can't go 28 minutes without one. I do know just weeks ago, she was the child who couldn't go 28 minutes without one. I also know we aren't out of the woods. She could have a meltdown 60 seconds after I hit the "publish post" button. In the next week or two, she will most likely have a massive meltdown. But, we are taking it one moment at a time. And expressing gratitude for each day that passes with only a small episode, or even better...no episode at all.

More than anything, I believe my ability to handle this situation has increased. And perspective is often (as Snarky Mama would say) a "game-changer". One of my favorite quotes is from Ralph Waldo Emerson: "That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do...not that the nature of the thing is changed, but that our power to do is increased." Lately, I've felt strengthened and I know that strength to persist comes from my Father in Heaven. I've spent a lot of time in prayer, pleading that I could find more beneficial ways of mothering my daughter, that I could be guided to something that might ease her struggles. In this situation, I believe that's been key. I haven't prayed that my child would be changed. Just that I could change my parenting, that I could better face the challenges and help this little person find peace. Again, that's this particular situation. And every challenge we are faced with requires a different approach. I guess what I'm saying is that I know there are times when praying for a healing from affliction or pain is the best thing to do. But this time, I knew in my gut what had to change....me, my perspective, my inability to just stop and think about ways to reach her...those things had to change, not my child.

All of that said, would you like to know what has brought the greatest peace and joy to Princie over the past few weeks? PUZZLES. Jigsaw puzzles to be exact. She is the most content I've seen her in months! Now before you look at the pictures, you should know that this is her work. She likes for us to be in the room with her, but doesn't want our help. So we set up her little table in the middle of the living room, and away she went.You know how most people begin with the outer edges? Not Princie. She dumps the pieces out, and just grabs one, and then another, etc. She will scan the pieces, until she finds the fitting piece. She never looks at the box, and I have yet to figure out how she can do this so quickly. I'm not kidding, it's fascinating to watch. Ok, so I'm her mother, of course I'm fascinated.

It all began with the 100 piece Shrek puzzle, followed the very next day by the 150 piece Princess puzzle. After finishing the Princess one, she says to me: "These are too easy, like they're for babies or something." (I have to add here that the pieces aren't that big either.) Then, Nana came to visit and bought her a 150 piece Fancy Nancy puzzle. (Fancy Nancy is currently undergoing PuzzleSaver surgery and is unable to be photographed.) Princie would put these three puzzles together, take them apart, put them back together, take them apart...over and over again.

The next step? Nana bought Princie a 300 piece Fairy puzzle. I was unsure...the box said ages 9 and up, these pieces are smaller (1:1 ratio) than the ones in the other puzzles, a lot of the colors in this puzzle are so similar. Couldn't this pose a problem for a child who just turned 5 in March, and doesn't look at the box? Apparently not.

And that my friends is the story of how Princie found Peace....
well, for the time being anyway!