....she's coming home.

So she has finagled money out of my Mom and she is coming home.
Big breath.
She's coming home.
We are in no way helping her to get here but we are clear that we will not turn her away if she shows up on our doorstep.
She's coming home.
She had it all figured out how to get herself to Lopez. She had a place to live and a job but after a heart to heart talk with her about doing what she really wants to do vs. making another mistake she let us know that she is coming home to be with us.
She's coming home.
She has found a job here and we are being very clear with her that things will not be the same for her around here.
She's coming home.
Xan is not too thrilled with the whole thing. I think that she has seen enough of the emotional trauma that we have been through this week and thinks that Artie would be better out on Lopez.
She's coming home.
I don't know how I really feel about the whole thing. I don't think that Artie really gets the magnitude of the personal growth that she is giving up. I will not let her come home and live like an emotional cripple.
She's coming home.
Oh God...she's coming home.

Stamina, stamina, stamina...

Yesterday morning was totally sucked into the Artie emotional hysteria. Yesterday afternoon was totally sucked into the Artie emotional hysteria. Yesterday evening I had just gotten home from working at the Farmers Market and she calls I told her that I couldn't talk to her until after dinner was made and we had eaten and watched our movie. She called three times before the movie was over and each time we told her that we would be calling her when the movie was over.
I called when the movie was over and we had a reasonably good conversation. Both she and I have been talking to reps from the Vancouver Film School. But in this conversation she tells me about how she has tried to hurt herself by taking too many aspirins. She's thinking that if she hurts herself we will come out and get her. Then she tells me that just that very day she has burned herself. On purpose.
What do you do?
I told her that the 5 aspirin that she told me she took won't kill her.
"That was only the 5 I took Mom! I stopped myself."
What do you say?
Our conversation got better. I kept it focused on this costume rental place near her house that is hiring. Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds....how fun does that sound? I kept it focused on the Starbucks application that she has. I kept it focused on the Vancouver Film School. I told her yet again that she needs to stay out there for some personal growth....and she needs to learn how to deal with herself.
I actually went to bed feeling fairly good. Then I woke up at 4am. Michael is still working and tells me that he has spent most of the evening on the phone with our oldest. On Sunday night she stooped to the "You don't love me that's why you won't let me come home". Last night it was her "My best friends' parents are better parents than you are". Michael said that the phone call was over because she was getting too hurtful and would regret the things that she was saying. She called back an hour later crying and apologizing and they talked for an hour.
Needless to say I didn't go back to sleep for a very long time.
So far this week we have missed soccer, a hair appointment, been late to work at the market, a cheese tour, and barely homeschooled yesterday morning. We are so sucked up in this emotional drama we are not functioning properly.
Stamina, stamina, stamina......

....into the pits of despair.

We've had one good day. ONE GOOD DAY. Well if you can consider that Art was pissed off enough (at us) to get her ass on the city bus and ride it. She told me that day that she was coping by putting on a facade.
"OK...if that's what you need to do to get through this."
Yesterday we were back to the I hate it here(s) and I want to come home(s).
She called in the wee hours of the morning and Michael told her that we need some rest and that we need to sleep so we will talk to her in the morning.
She told me yesterday that she has a job interview today at a coffee shop at the airport. She is going in and they will talk and do a background check. And she's got a job interview for a cashier position at some restaurant called Jimmy Chews.
Michael said yesterday (before we started receiving more distressing phone calls) that I should blog everyday about this so that we can have a record of how great this move to Austin has been for us. Little did we know that we were about to be plunged down again into the pits of despair.

...numb to the core.

I had wonderful plans to blog about my vacation in Mexico. I had anticipated with warm fuzzy thoughts about the blog that would contain the pictures and my thoughts about J. How glorious to meet J and how dear it was going to be to share that with my blogger friends.
Instead....I have spent the last 4 days in hell. In parent hell.
Artie flew off to Austin, TX on Tuesday last week.
On Wednesday the phone calls of need and loneliness started. We have peaked (hopefully peaked) into how much I hate her and won't come out to Austin and be there for her.. How can I? How can I save her from herself? Oh, this is hard folks. I want to get on that plane. I want to go out there and hug here and hold her. I can not.
We are standing back and allowing our oldest to succeed. We are standing back and allowing her to figure out for herself how she is going to help herself feel better.
What growing pains. I am frozen with fear.
Teary eyed and numb to the core.