Y'sly

When the therapist was here on Thursday night and all Akila did was cycle up and down for two hours (actually, she did this for over 5 hours, from the minute she got home from school until the minute she went to bed), we had a typical "Akila moment".

During one of her semi-down moments, she wanted me to tell the therapist about Y'sly. I asked what Y'sly was. She said, "you know, Y'sly!" I said I couldn't remember Y'sly, and needed her to remind me. She just kept on saying, you know, and getting more agitated. This "Akila moment" happens usually once a day, sometimes more. She will not just tell you what she is talking about, she will just keep saying you know, and getting more mad.

I was standing there and trying my hardest to figure out what she was talking about. All I could hear in my head was Y'sly, and it didn't sound like a word to me. The therapist was trying to prod her for info to help me out, and she just got more mad. Finally, I figured out what she was saying. She was saying wisely, but the word alone with no context meant nothing to me, and by this time, after several hours of cycling up and down with her, my brain was mud.

Here is what she was referring to. Her class was going to a program called Financial Park, run by Junior Achievement. In the younger grades, it is called Biztown. The kids go and spend fake money, write fake checks. They all have a different role in the business. Akila has been telling us all week that she was going to be an Architect and make $98,000/year. She also told me she was going to bring $98,000 in real money home on Friday. I told her I didn't think it was real money earlier in the week and she got very mad at me and called me stupid. I said ok, that will be great if it is real money and left it at that.

When I saw the school staff on Thursday, I asked them to make sure that she understood that it is not real money. One day this week, she told me it would be a check for real money, so I was anticipating her coming home with a fake check and freaking out that we should go to the bank and cash it. She did come home from school yesterday and tell me right away that it is not real money. I acted surprised and sad.

Back to the "Akila moment". In the profile of the Architect, it said she was 43 years old, had an 8 and 5 year old, drove a Chyrsler Town and Country minivan. It listed her bi-weekly pay check amount (one I would die for), and it stated that she had invested her money "wisely" and it listed her stocks and investments. This was the "Y'sly" or "wisely" I was suppose to be telling the therapist about. Wow, the way her brain works is amazing. She thought that I would remember that tiny detail and that it was important to tell the therapist. And I got plenty of attitude when I finally figured it out. Was called stupid and got the snotty eye roll. That doesn't bother me at all, it is the least of our concerns.

Akila stayed over at my friend Lynne's last night. She called Thursday night asking how she could help and offered to take her for a night. I of course don't say no, ever really. :) Lynne is a special ed teacher so I think this will be a good learning experience for her, not to mention that she is well equipped to deal with the sweet thing. Lynne called me last night and had some excellent observations. We are so blessed to have people in our lives who are willing to help out and are willing to put up with a lot (I was just on the phone with Akila and she was giving Lynne a run for her money!). I have chosen my friends "wisely".