Mental illness has no time schedule.

    Sunday afternoon ..... Oct 20th 2013 ...... Oh what 24 hours can bring ...... All this past week I had tentatively prepared in my mind and verbally with everyone else in the household that we were going to tear out the kitchen .. at least the half our non-working range top & built in oven occupied. I was suppose to have some help ...... well I did ... but .... not with cleaning out stuff & having it ready to tear out on Saturday morning. Mental illness has no time schedule or preference when it comes and goes; not that it ever leaves but certain aspects of certain mental illnesses have their cycles. It also knows no age boundaries. Ms. D has hers. We have had a really great week, she was highly functioning, and upbeat. By Friday morning I had high hopes ...... by Friday night she was spiraling downward into the abyss of dismal thinking and responses. I didn't hold out any hope of her being any help with the kitchen.  On Friday night the sweet talking and kind person was vanishing into this foul languages mean person who thinks in terms of warped anger and self imploding/ destructive mentality and this is when we are having good moments with everyone else. The positive side is Miss LL (our 13 yr old) was holding her own and working through her own Explosive Anger Disorder and controlling it somewhat. I was proud of her. All and all you take what you can get when you get it.

     I have joined NAMI .... it is the National Alliance on Mental Illness  I hope to become a facilitator (a counselor / group leader) in my area when done with all the training I am about to embark upon. .... I know in and of myself I am totally inadequate to help this family group that lives with me. My training so far has consisted of the school of LIFE'S EXPERIENCES! That is all I know is what I have learned through daily living, working, associating with, dealing with various interactions with others who have emotional and mental issues.

    All said and done ..... we (as in Mr SL, Mr. C and myself) tore out our kitchen, range top, built in oven, counter top, & what was left of the cabinets. My hubby helped here and there where he could. My plan was to wire in a new stove receptacle for the stove that was in the garage to plug into. That was the plan ...... but here is the actual reality ...... We found that there was aluminum wire from the built in oven to the wall.  We had to go to town and buy some copper wire to wire in the receptacle for the stove. by the time we had this done it was late afternoon. That's when we flipped the breakers and BANG! all the electric went out ....... so now here is 9 of us & no electric. ....... Well we got some of it working ..... about 1/2 the house. We had to take the microwave into the laundry room, run extension cords from the bathroom ..... and call an electrician! ...... God bless our electrician friend! they came out this morning (Sunday) ...... Our main breaker outisde is almost fried. We are hoping to get it fixed by Thursday or Friday. That's when we have made plans to have our elecrician friends back. ..........  By then we should be able to have the parts we need & the electric company here to shut off the electric to the place.