Getting Back in the Game

It was a whirlwind kind of week with a fair amount of chaos, but surprisingly not as much as I expected. The entire experience was actually kind of magical and I was so grateful for the abundant feelings of peace and serenity. Admittedly, I did not think a whole lot about how my younger adopteds were taking it all in, and when I received more than a handful of SOS calls from the school in the 3 days we were gone, I was not surprised, but I was frustrated and not really willing to give up the 'normalcy' of the marriage of my firstborn. I pushed back, and am still pushing even as  I realize I have to help them assimilate yet another loss in their lives. I am trying to convince them that this is really more about gaining a new brother than losing a sister.. but they aren't buying it, and as their behavior disintegrates, I find myself having to leave the fairy tale and get back in the game.

Breaking

As per the title, this family might not ever break, but our hearts certainly are breaking. Our Texas Rager went into a deep and irreversible decline that began with the window breaking posted about earlier, segued into breaking and entering into the neighbors home, and ended in a 18+ hour dramatic run of events including two run away attempts, an assault and crisis and police intervention. In the end, although we love him dearly, we could not keep him safe and he is now back in his residential facility in Texas. I am numb and so incredibly sad.