Thank you for this. We are earlier on this journey, but apparently we’ve been on the road longer than I realized. This metaphor is so helpful. I just learned about riparian boundaries at the Just Creation conference at CTS yesterday.
Camille, I feel this, especially realizing that your kid has struggled longer than you knew. There’s the guilt at not responding sooner.
I also begin to question my own memories. Was the kid I saw as deeply creative, always doing something, and naturally high “performing” actually trying to self-medicate somehow? I grieve what has been lost, but question whether that’s something we want to get back to; maybe it was maladaptive. I begin to not trust the stories I tell myself about our kids’ childhoods. In that way, mental illness can rob you of bits of your past as well as your present.
Thank you for this. We are earlier on this journey, but apparently we’ve been on the road longer than I realized. This metaphor is so helpful. I just learned about riparian boundaries at the Just Creation conference at CTS yesterday.
Camille, I feel this, especially realizing that your kid has struggled longer than you knew. There’s the guilt at not responding sooner.
I also begin to question my own memories. Was the kid I saw as deeply creative, always doing something, and naturally high “performing” actually trying to self-medicate somehow? I grieve what has been lost, but question whether that’s something we want to get back to; maybe it was maladaptive. I begin to not trust the stories I tell myself about our kids’ childhoods. In that way, mental illness can rob you of bits of your past as well as your present.
Go gently...
I love your metaphor!
Thank you Jane!