Monday Madness: Migraines, Multiplication, and Meltdowns

My Monday madness began today with a migraine.  I struggled through a couple of hours trying to tackle school, but to no avail. I ended up going to lie down in the dark and then lay there in frustration at having forgotten to take anything for the pain before I lay down, and not wanting to have to get up to go get it.  After two hours I got up and took as much as I could legally get away with, and right when I should have been getting mom loaded up to go to the prostheticist, the pain finally started to abate, which meant I had to quickly get myself ready and motor over there.  By the time we were done with her hour-long appointment the headache was finally completely gone.  Thanks be to God.

When we got home it was closing in on 2:30, Paul was already home from work, and I knew I was going to have to face the challenge of doing some math with Jacob.  It is his least favorite subject, and on Mondays, after a weekend that included an overnighter in Sun Lakes with the grandparents, and many hours immersed in his Minecraft world, with virtually nothing approaching a schedule, absolutely everything that interrupts his obsession qualifies as his least favorite.  My morning migraine did not help get things off to a successful or productive start, but I had tried to ease him back into the real world with some assigned literature readings.  Literature is usually his strong suit – or history, or really any subject as long as it involves reading. However, when it was time to head to the whiteboard and begin the monstrous task of multiplication, everything went sideways.  It’s fairly rare for Jacob to have a real meltdown.  Occasionally he has a momentary glitch in self control, but normally we can pull things back into line.  Today was not that kind of a thing.  Today’s issue, complicated by a few days off schedule and the stress of facing complex mathematical processing, was a two-parent problem and the solution required removal from the situation, and quiet isolation to settle down.  As always, I’m so thankful for my husband who is such a good and patient father.  After a 15 minutes he was calmer and ready to try again, and we were able to get some work done together.

I was proud of his efforts in controlling himself and in sticking to his task, and after we got a good bit done, I let him go play Minecraft for a while while I went for a walk around the neighborhood with my sweetie.  It was a brisk 42°F and I should have thought to bring a tissue along with me.  But it was very enjoyable nonetheless, and even though my pace is much slower than Paul’s, walking and talking together is something we have always loved, and always will.

I am thankful to be ending the day on a peaceful note and grateful for my Lord’s sustaining graces.