Over the past six months, Brielle has become super compulsive. It started in our house. At first it was cute! She would put her stuff in the garbage and put her stuff away. A parent’s dream, right? I was grateful to have at least one kid who would clean up.
Then we slowly realized she was throwing everything away. We no long have any silverware. No joke.
I could replace our set, but why bother? She’ll probably throw it out again. So for now, we are a family of disposable silverware.
We started missing things. A wallet that was on the kitchen counter would end up in my husband’s office. A backpack would be found in the dining room. She was moving stuff!
The more tense and angry she gets, the worse it is. Just before she goes to sleep is her peak time. Things get thrown away, put in new places. The dog’s toys. Wall hangings. We can no longer leave our jewelry within her reach.
For some reason, she puts the bananas in the refrigerator every night. I have no idea why. I just take them out after she goes to sleep.
It’s gotten worse. She does it at school now. Like us, they enjoy having someone clean up, but she puts stuff where she wants it to go and gets pissed if they move it from where she put it.
We were in a shoe store a few weeks ago, and it was a big clearance sale and there were shoes out of their boxes everywhere. Brielle swept through the aisles, picking the boxes up off the floor and putting them back on the shelf. Some people probably thought she worked there.
The other day, Bree wanted to go for a walk, so we headed out along the path near our home. As we walked, I tried to listen to music, but she kept grabbing my phone and shutting it off. As we walked she would stop to pick up stray sticks or leaves that were on the path.
We walked a mile, I could not believe it. We usually walk to the park a half-mile away, but this time I told her if we kept walking there would be ice cream at the end, and she was down for it. But it took forever because she kept stopping to pick stuff up! I laughed. By the time we got her ice cream and got home it was cold and dark.
I don’t try to understand her. Actually, that’s not really true. I’m always trying to understand her. I brought her to the doctor and we’re running some tests. There’s a slight chance her compulsiveness could be something medical, but I’m not holding my breath.
Things change with Bree, suddenly, with no reason or explanation. Some are for the worse, some are for the better.
There’s never a simple or easy explanation.
Every single night for several years, when Brielle is ready to go to sleep, we head up to the bathroom. She does her business, she brushes her teeth, she leaves her beloved My Little Pony on the bathroom sink as she heads to sleep. She wakes up the next morning, does her business, grabs her My Little Pony and heads downstairs to ask for something to drink and eat.
The past few nights, she has been leaving her beloved My Little Pony downstairs before heading up. Why? What’s changed. These are the things that keep me up at night. Is she doing this on purpose? Does it mean something? I have no freaking idea. I drive myself crazy with this stuff.
We’ve had a swing hanging in Brielle’s room for years. I haven’t seen her on it in years. But I leave it up, in hopes she’ll use it.
Last week, I passed her room and there she was, swinging away.
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