Oh Yes, They Call Her "The Streak"

Lily is now in her fifth week of occupational therapy and is finally starting to get more comfortable at the new clinic.

In fact, she may be getting a bit too comfortable.

Typically, when we pull into the parking lot of the clinic, the Bird starts fussing and making it quite clear that she does not want to be there.  Really, this isn't unusual for any kind of kid simply because it's something new and unfamiliar to their regular routine.  I knew it wouldn't take Lily long to settle in and realize that OT isn't so bad.

So when I pulled into the parking lot yesterday morning, I was really excited to see that not only did she not fuss, she got out of the car very willingly and just happily walked inside, holding my hand.

The therapist led Lily back to the gym area and I breathed a huge sigh of relief, thinking we had finally turned the corner.  I felt fairly confident that it would be a good session.

You'd think I would learn.

Those feelings of confidence usually come back to bite me in the... ahem.... fanny.

Lori brings the Bird out to me after the hour is up.  With my voice full of hope, I ask, "Sooooo.... how was it?"

Lori smiles sweetly and says, "Welllll...."

This is not a good sign.

I just dropped my head into my hands.  I say, "She came in the door so nicely.  I just knew today's session was going to be good."

It turns out that Lily is acting like a typical kid and is testing Lori.  I can just hear the little voice inside her head saying:

"Well hello, Lori.  You're new around these parts, right?  So what are you going to do if I run away from the art table?  Or if I eat the crayon?  Or if I jump off the swing as soon as you turn your back?  And if you ask me to do something I don't want to do, I'm going to throw a tantrum.  Ooooo - doesn't that scare you?? You don't want to make me cry now, do you???"

Lily just wants to make sure that Lori has boundaries and that she isn't afraid to enforce them, even if Lily throws a tantrum.  If she just sticks to her guns, Lily will give up and cooperate.  Or at least, for a little while.  She'll continually test off and on just to keep Lori on her toes.

So this is pretty much how the Bird does everyone.  Not much new information there.

But then Lori managed to surprise me.

It turns out that Lily is engaging in a new behavior that she evidently saved up just for OT - and this is where the too comfortable part I mentioned above might be coming into play.

Let's see... how can I put this?

It appears that the Bird decided a fun distraction from participating in therapy activities would be to quickly yank down her shorts and Pull-up and take off running at top speed around the gym.

Nice.

My child is a streaker.

And this did not happen just one time yesterday but three times.

Of course, seeing the reaction of the therapist is what makes this activity the most appealing but tell me - how are you not supposed to react to a naked child running around a gym??

I'm telling you -trying to stay one step ahead of this child requires some serious brain power and creative thinking.

My solution?

I'm off to the outlet mall today to purchase some overalls for the Bird.

Wonder if I can write these off as a therapy expense....