Well it's Christmas morning, and the weeks leading up to it have been probably the most calm that I can remember. It's not unusual for parents of RAD children to hate the holidays. Most other parents that I've spoken with truly dread Christmastime. It's a time when these children can create the most havoc, cause the most uproar and the most hurt. When a child doesn't feel worthy of being loved, Christmas seems to really freak them out. Whether it's because some of them learned to associate gifts with "bad things" happening, or they just don't believe somebody can actually show them love and giving without an ulterior motive, or any number of possible trauma related scenarios, children with RAD have a habit of ruining Christmas.
Not so this year for us. We actually had minimal problems this year (compared to past years) - although the kids didn't really go out of their way to express any "Christmas cheer" or helpfulness, neither did they go out of their way to ruin things for us just so they could make things go their way. Perhaps it's because they get it that we just moved and don't have a ton of money for presents... perhaps they're just older and are learning to appreciate what they have (ok, that's hard to say with a straight face)... Whatever the reason, I like to think it's all part of the bigger picture I've seen lately with them healing. In general, we haven't had as many issues lately (that's not to say we haven't had LOTS, we have... just not "as many"), and although the big ones are still just as horrific, there just seems to be fewer smaller ones..
If all I get for Christmas is some healing for my children, that's all the gift I need.... Hope your Christmas is as wonderful as ours!
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