My wife recently asked me to put our younger (seven-year-old) son in the shower with me because he needed a bath and it would "kill two birds with one stone".  I was in a hurry to finish and started washing him up.  In the midst of doing so, it dawned on me: "He can probably do this himself." I asked him if he could wash himself, to which he responded affirmatively.  I said I would just finish since I was trying to get done quickly, but I realized that I am so used to washing thirteen-year-old Anthony that it didn't immediately occur to me that his younger brother wouldn't require my help.

We have lately needed to increase the Abilify medication that Anthony has been taking. Since he started taking it, he has not bitten, or slammed his head into, anyone. I think he had also not put any holes into our drywall. However, he has lately shown more of a propensity toward violence again, and he did indeed put a couple of dents in the walls of our newly-finished basement family room. I wish I could put a couple of dents in his head for doing that! At least they are only dents rather than holes. My wife asked me, however, if I wanted to fix the dents right away. I do not. It took us several months to finish the room to a point that we could feel good about using it. I don't particularly want to do any more work on it for a while.

I dread this time of year because of pollen in the air. I could accurately say that about myself, but I can somewhat control my own allergies with prescription steroid sprays. Anthony has allergies too, it seems, and I am considering taking him to the doctor for this because the alternative is not appealing. Sometimes over-the-counter medication helps, and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, we can spend a fair amount of time trying to wipe his nose because we cannot teach him to blow into the tissue.