Okay, I am very tired from being home with sick Katrine and Elspeth, and not having enough sleep that I am looking for an excuse to avoid working. (Hence the procrastination in the title) It is not that my AQ course is not interesting. To the contrary, it is very informative. If I can start to apply myself again, I will be the better teacher for it. Alas, I think that tonight will end with a complete assignment more full of flaws than learning. Perhaps tomorrow will be more conducive to learning and retention. Thank you for humouring me as I procrastinate and now onto to attachment.
We were thrilled on Gotcha Day to see how strongly Elspeth reacted to the chance. To us it was a good sign that she had been loved and known attachment with her foster family. Fast forward 6 months. As hard as it is to have a sick and well kid at home, Elspeth seems to have chosen this week to enter a new stage in the development of attachment. Yippee! We now have Follow The Parent. She will follow me everywhere or call out to check and see if I am still around. Yes, this is anxious behaviour but at least she is seeking to connect with Glenn and I as preferred caregivers.   Seek out Comfort When Hurt. When we first got home we literally had to force our attentions on her if she got hurt. Today she was walking in circles around the coffee table (we were watching TV -the sick kid activity of choice- and Elspeth got bored) and kept bumping her side on the edge. With each bump she would announce “Oww” and run over for a cuddle. We also have my favourite stage developing What! I Have to Share a Parent which is more frequently called having a sibling. If one of us were rubbing Katrine’s back, Elspeth just had to get her back rubbed too. If Katrine was cuddled up against me with her head in my lap, Elspeth would climb over top of her and try to wedge herself in. Ahh. Happy times. Finally, Mommy as a Security Blanket. Got that one during play time at playschool. There is one of those plastic playhouses with shutters that all of the kids like to go in. Of course, most want to be in by themselves. Well, Elspeth decided to venture out and try to enter the house while another child was inside. Needless to say, the child was unimpressed and pulled the door shut on her which caused her to run to me. Happy smile. Don’t worry, the attachment also extends to Glenn. He fills the Security Blanket role at swim class where she will do lots of things, like blow bubbles, if he is holding her but not so many if she is in the wading pool without direct contact.
We obviously still have a ways to go before Elspeth could be called securely attached to us. After all, she lived with another family for almost two years. We are seeing positive signs of progress which is truly a gift. Now for a random cute photo.
