A lot going on around here. Next week, we move to a new apartment. Which is, on the whole, a positive development, but also a major hassle. We’ll get it done, but of course I’d just as soon not have to! Everything in the house is sort of lying around half-sorted at the moment. I do not enjoy these states of transition. Yes, I know I should have thought of that before I married an FSO.

On the subject of transitions, one of the major reasons for moving downtown was to be closer to my son’s school. Of course, as soon as the housing board approved our request, the school started expressing doubts about his ability to handle IB courses next year. I began getting those wonderful emails about his “progress,” subtext: “lack thereof.”

Now, he has come a long way this year, that is for sure. We are not in the same position we were in last spring, by any means. He is trying, and he is more or less passing his classes. But, he is always behind on at least one assignment, despite all the organizational help he receives. He always has “plenty of time” to get things done, and yet ends up doing them at the last minute, or not at all. Always making excuses, always in crisis mode. Or not in crisis mode when he probably should be!

We have concluded that the school is correct that even with learning support, he may not be able to handle the IB program in 11th and 12th grade, when the schedule becomes much more self-directed and college-like. Because it is, after all, a preparatory school, and a certain level of maturity is reasonably expected. I went to a prep school myself, so I ought to know.

It has dawned on me that his life may always be this way. Some people just lead dramatic lives, and don’t know how to change that. In fact, they may not even want to. I am pretty sure no one does anything without a reason, even if they don’t realize what that might be. Dramatic people may actually crave the adrenalin rush of pulling something off at the last minute.

Well, fine. But I am basically boring. I find all this very tiring, and am pretty much over it. Since we are not complete idiots, we realize that we will probably be looking for a boarding school soon. It is clear, in a way that it was not a year ago, that we are he is ready to start figuring this stuff out on his own, or with the help of people who actually choose to deal with ADHD on a daily basis. Thank heaven for people like that, but I am not one of them.

Then there is the cat. Who is very sweet, but also completely insane. For months now, he has been convinced that his tail is stalking him. So, he tries to bite it to teach it a lesson, with predictable results. It gets worse when he is stressed. Last week, he had three teeth removed because he is kind of old, and he promptly went all psycho on his tail and chewed it up so bad that the vet had to take two inches right off.

They checked him out to see if there was any physical reason for the behavior, and couldn’t find anything. So, the conclusion is that he is clinically anxious. Yes, even the cat has an mental disorder.

I was sent home with a pricey aromatherapy pheromone plug-in especially for cats, and a prescription for a homeopathic tranquilizer–again, for cats. Veterinary care is different in Europe 🙂

That said, the cat seems very chilled out the last couple of days. So, who knows, maybe there is something to New Age kitty care.

However, as a human, I am sadly impervious to feline pheromones.

So, is it five o’clock yet?