The Long and Winding Road

I know it's been a long time since I last posted - over two years in fact and for those of you who have continued to check in - I Thank You. This post is, hopefully, the beginning of my road back. A bit of an update - David is still living in Columbus, but is no longer in college - he was dismissed for failure to meet academic standards. This past two years have been hard - on all of us. We lost two beloved grandparents last year. I have been separated from my husband for a year - our divorce should be final in April. I believe that the divorce may have played a role in David's increased anxiety and reluctance to go out in public. David's sister, Elizabeth lived with him for over year and what I thought would be a helpful situation soon turned into a war zone. She is also, I believe, bipolar, though she has never been diagnosed. She took off before finishing high school and is now dealing with struggles that in ways go beyond David's. The two siblings clashed at every turn and called me at every twist, till some days I would turn off my phone to get away from the constant stress. But Elizabeth did finally move out and their relationship has improved. Last weekend my boyfriend and I went up to David's and did a complete overhaul of his apartment, even shampooing the carpets. I was hoping that the positive change would boost David's motivation, which has been rather low lately. Alas the best intentions ... For a lot of the time we were there David was agitated, trying to pick an argument - by the time Saturday evening rolled around we were exhausted and fed up so we packed up and came home. Of course then I worried for two days about the effect our leaving early might have on David. He seemed a bit upset - but now OK. He's started back on his seroquel which he had been skipping - I hope that will help with his agitation. But he needs to find something to do - take classes online - start a blog - something constructive. He is going on the 21st to spend some time in Florida with his uncle - I hope that this might change his attitude a bit. On a sad note - the dog who was always David's loyal companion after his illness got hit by a car and killed yesterday. He was eleven and a half years old and will be sorely missed by all in the family.