The Pint turns 12

oh dear. yep! she turned 12 the beginning of this month! almost 5 " tall (lacks a quarter inch).  sparkley eyes. no more adhd meds. funny, bright, loving.  half pint is busy counting the days, her 9th birthday is the 22nd. school starts the following day!

of course, thier mom came over. suffice to say, we ALL had a migraine when she finally left. yep, even the kids. why does methadone make them talk so  very LOUD?

pint starts 8th grade this year and half pint, tunrs nine and the next day starts 5th grade. scarey is what that is. but, she was all honors in fourth...so i still think she is okay.

terrified is what i am.  did i do the right thing?  only time will tell.   pint said the other day, as pap and i were having a beer..."i dont think it's gonna be okay for me to ever even taste alcohol. don't they say that the gene is passed from dad to daughter?"  we said yes.....and waited.  she said, well, since both parents are addicts, i guess i wont be experimenting with anything at all. not even once, because, well, statistically, the first time i try, i will become an addict."

out of the mouths of babes. i just hope she remembers all this later. however, most kids get offered drugs/alcohol starting in junior high, and grade advancing her may work in our favor here. since she is only 12 and in eighth grade, maybe the other/older kids won't bother her too much?  the other thing is she is so close to the situation, that the hurt is still very much present with her mom and dad and heroin, so she is so anti-drug it isn't funny.

meanwhile, her dad is in town, running from the law. she says if she spots him she will call the police herself to get him off the streets. she has nothing to say about her dad.  while she hasn't "madonna-ized" (is that a word) her mother, she does still make excuses, although they are getting much rarer. she has seen her nod off several times lately, and the look of complete and utter disgust on her face is very sad, and very telling. i don't think it will be long before she writes her mom off.

our relationship with the 1/4 pint, whom mom still has is good. she comes and spends the night a couple of times a week. the worst part is that her sisters are much older, that we have no 'little' toys here, and that the girls have their own friends, agenda's, social life, etc.  so their tolerance for sitting there watching Handy Manny or Diego is not very long LOL.  1/4 and I color alot when the girls have had enough and say, "can I go to ......'s house?"

life, is what it is. we are happy, we are fed, the kids are great and everyone is getting by. that's really all we can ask.

another milestone!! a big one. a HUGE one.

Pint was released from her psychiatrist, and pronounced NORMAL. she was released from counseling after 7 years, and pronounced NORMAL. she is ecstatic. her psychiatrist made kind of a big deal out of it, asking her....

Pint, what is your very BIGGEST goal in life?  she of course, said "to be normal".  He walked around the desk, asked her to stand up, shook her hand and said "well then, congratulations!! Most people don't achieve their biggest goal until their late 40's and you have achieved it on your 12th birthday! - you have alot to be proud of and I now pronounce you NORMAL!"

you could just see her beam. the light of love shone through her wise 12 year old eyes.

her psychiatrist is a great guy LOL. he made my baby's entire year. she will start 8th grade a normal kid.