This corner of the forum is looking a bit neglected.  I've been as guilty as everyone else, but last week's after-school Grandaughter visit triggered something.

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Elemental.

She arrived at my house,
jumping out of her skin,
grey eyes stormy,
aura flashing like a hazard light.

She burst through the door,
halfway up the hall in two strides,
then backtracked to remove her shoes.
Calm for just long enough to say,
"Sorry, I forgot.  Stupid school...
They made us stay in at playtime.
And it was hardly raining at all."

Her Mum, a few steps behind,
raised her eyebrows.
"It's okay," I said, bracing myself,
"We've all been there."

After fifteen minutes of cartwheels,
somersaults, dive-rolls,
bouncing off my living room walls,
she calmed down enough for a drink.

Hyper-active is one thing,
but this was elemental.

If she ever learns the knack,
to turn it off and on at will,
she'll be a lucky girl.
We'll try to teach her.  But,
if she doesn't, life will be hard.

Gyppo

Lovely, Gyppo  :)

Cheers, Laura.

Guilty of neglecting this corner of the forum myself.


Your granddaughter sounds like a girl after my own heart.
I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD until I was an adult.  I wonder, if I was taught coping skills, could I have controlled some of my outbursts, and how I would have felt as a child to have to keep all of that rambunctiousness bottled up inside.

I'm sure I would have been saved from a few embarrassing incidents where my impulsivity got the best of me.

I like this poem, Gyppo. I love that Alma has adults in her life who understand her and don't make her feel bad about her abundant energy.