Disruptive Despite The Fun: These are hairy times in so much of our area. Though I find consolation in the continuous party atmosphere, reassuring myself that though our daughter’s been dislocated from her new home, she is enjoying the adventure, in fact she is yearning to return to “my cozy little apartment and my apartment-mate.” That is a verbatim quote.

Neighbors Washing Dishes At 6 A.M: Ten friends showered in our office bathroom yesterday, and one neighbor was found washing his dishes in our kitchen sink at six A.M. this morning. Two young cousins slept over last night and to accommodate all we kept the generator on through the night, which worried both my husband and son. Our cell phones hardly function and I am writing these posts on my IPad2G3 which, thanks too Irene, now ranks as my best investment in 2011. And though our daughter flourished at last night’s birthday party and in fact had her request to go to the mall (where all of Northern Fairfield County, CT was spending the day) fulfilled along with the successful purchase of a Victoria Secret hoodie and work out capris, the moans and groans about longing to go “home” continued until I finally said enough and mentioned starving children in Ethiopia and Somalia.

Vocational Catch 22: When I retrieved our daughter from the DSO yesterday, I ran into the vocational coordinator whose news did nothing to offset the sense of disruption. They have not replaced the vocational staff person as yet, and the senior residence not only hasn’t cleared our daughter but also now would have to have to check out the substitute staffer who would accompany our daughter to the setting, which is unlikely to occur. With her Complete Cat Clinic job terminating mid-September, staff vacancy and senior center complications, one can only hope that ROAR, the Ridgefield animal shelter, comes through soon. That wonderful email from the board member ten days ago has not as yet borne fruit. Though I responded with email and phone (all prior to Irene), I have not heard any word since, which leads me to ponder, was the warm welcoming communication a dream or is the lovely lady on an end of summer lark?

Mighty Progress: Our daughter will go to her “cozy apartment” after her second day of DSO this week where she can reconnect to “home” and check to see if the power has returned, highly doubtful. I never forget for a moment, despite my occasional impatience with our daughter’s complaints, that she is doing beautifully with all the changes, the cancellations of horse show and animal adoption day, the quick round trip from Long Island, dislocation from new home and the always torturous “unknown” aspects of the “when” of return. What mighty progress indeed in flexibility, frustration tolerance and coping with uncertainty. Mighty awesome progress. I will let her know how proud I am of her throughout this dramatic mini-series “Irene Comes To Call.”

© Jill Edelman, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. 2011