Babysitter

Yesterday, Butterfly was back at school. There was a Holiday Concert in the morning. The whole family went to watch Butterfly Girl on the stage with her classmates in front of the whole school and families. She did awesome! Butterfly waited patiently- standing still and looking out over the big crowd- for fifteen minutes- that's pretty much a record for her. When the concert started, she sang her little heart out. We were all very proud.

Apparently the rest of the day was not so good. She had to go to the office once. She also had to go to the classroom next door- 2nd graders I think- and sit there because she was being too disruptive in her class. That is a new one. Not sure if it worked. Really did not get any details- not even sure why she went to the office.

Partner and I finally saved up enough to get a babysitter and go out for a little break last night. We desperately wanted a brief respite. When we return home three hours later, the babysitter is noticeably shaken. There is stuff all over the kitchen and the floor.

Apparently, Brother had squashed the little clay cat Butterfly had made. Butterfly exploded- throwing everything off the kitchen table, hitting Brother "six times". Then she took a tile from the kitchen table (a thing for hot plates) and threw it at Brother's face. Babysitter blocks it with her hand and gets a big bloody cut. When Butterfly sees the blood, she finally begins to calm down.

Brother is sleeping now. Babysitter says it took a long time to get him to calm down. Butterfly Girl is having a quiet tea party. Partner begins to clean up and put together the pieces of what transpired through the Babysitters recounts. Babysitter is actually very understanding. We are not sure why she did not call us.

Babysitter said she could see how frustrated Butterfly was- on her face, her body. The other day, another parent (who is also a teacher at another school) asked Partner "what's wrong with Butterfly?" As someone who doesn't know Butterfly at all, she talked about her body language- how frustrated and angry her movements appeared. She talked about how different Butterfly appeared- from even summertime.

We are struggling again with decisions. Everything is escalating. So tempting to just pull her from school. A spot has opened at the charter school we had desperately wanted to get into. There are two families ahead of us on the wait list. If it comes down to it, I think we would move her if we got the opportunity.

We need to get her to the psychiatrist. I wish the guy would call me back for the appointment. We are looking forward to winter break- no stress of school. It will be so welcomed- by all of us.