11-11-11 Today has filled me with a variety of emotions for multiple reasons. The strongest emotion of the day is GRATITUDE. It is Veteran’s Day and I’d like to personally say THANK YOU to all of the Veteran’s who have served and are serving our country. You have made incredible sacrifices; you have been tremendously valiant; you have defined honor. Thank you for defending our freedom and protecting us with your lives. While my words of thanks flow to this page with ease, I feel that they are inadequate expressions of my gratitude….my thanks comes from deep in my heart and the depths of my soul. I am humbled by your service and inspired by your loyalty. Thank you THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I am also filled with EXCITEMENT as I was able to print my credentials for my upcoming SGK Breast Cancer 3-Day in San Diego. One week from today I will begin another 60 mile journey to honor all of the angels we have loved and lost; to stand in solidarity and support of the warriors who are fighting with everything they’ve got; and to celebrate the many survivors in our midst. I am excited because I have been filled with hope and empowered by actions. I am excited because I get to smother and be smothered with kindness and  be surrounded by the most amazing group of women and men I’ve ever encountered. I get to cry, walk, laugh, walk, smile, walk, sleep, walk, drink, walk, dance, walk and walk and walk and walk. YAY me!

I am also filled with one part FEAR and another part cautious OPTIMISM. Squidget started new meds today. I’m always a little terrified to transition from what I know and understand into the world of the unknown.  So far, Squidget’s meds have proven VERY effective during school hours and that makes me both happy and grateful; and while that is a win, our evenings have had far less success. An average night consists of unpredictability, high emotions, the inability to reason, the desire to argue, and tantrums meltdowns….epic meltdowns.  Over the years we have certainly seen our fair share of this behavior but we are currently experiencing it at a very high rate in a condensed period of time. The cause for this concentration of mayhem is due in part to rebounding. In the afternoons he is coming off of a stimulant prescribed for his ADHD and that process makes him a more intense version of himself. When you combine that with the Asperger’s it can be rather frustrating, exhausting, and mind boggling to him and Mr. T and I.  While this isn’t the first adjustment to his medication, it is a new drug: it is made from the same ingredients but it offers a different delivery of the medication. The desired result is a longer more consistent duration of ADHD management with less rebound. It will take a few days to see if it works so I am keeping my fingers crossed that  it has the desired effect without causing insomnia or other adverse reactions. So far, today has been good – which is a relief because we have seen adverse side effects through previous changes. Obviously I need to get through a few more hours and several more days of observation before I can claim any victory or defeat – but I got over the first hurdle of actually starting the new regime instead of trying to determine when the best time to do so would be. Plunging into the unknown and stirring the pot is scary but invigorating. Keeping my outlook positive and moving forward.

Competing with the myriad of emotions I am juggling today stems from embracing my inner nerd. I am highly AMUSED and ELATED because today is a fun number day. In fact, when we rolled into this millennium I was downright giddy over the amount of fun number days that we would get to embrace between 2001 and 2012. For whatever reason these things just make me happy – sometimes it really is the simple things! If you missed your first opportunity be sure to seize the next one (or go for the two-fer). Make a wish at 11:11 on 11-11-11. While I can’t confirm  fun date wish fulfillment success rates, I can vouch for increased rates of smiles and goofiness.