My apologies for the recent hiatus in my writing. I had to gather my thoughts about the next part of our family’s story. It both drains me emotionally to revisit some of our darker days and I think it’s important to cover the details of this period as accurately as I can. As a memoir, I understand that much of what I share is my own subjective account of our
This night owl stuff had to stop. Not only wasn’t Avner waking in the morning. He was potentially violent when we tried to wake him. He would lash out with hands or if someone was at his feet, he would kick. At the same time, it was evident that Avner was waking at night to eat. Sometimes, he would deny it. We would find plates and bowls under his bed, along with sport drink bottles. On one occasion, he even drank most of a bottle of maple syrup.
Still the attitude grew darker. Avner gravitated to violent video games. In fact he had migrated away from the social games that he played with friends at school. He was turning morose and there wasn’t a ready explanation, except adolescents. Everything that we thought we saw could be explained by teenage hormones or frustration with school work.
I suppose that context always makes the difference. Talking to Avner tops the list of important things I do, especially during this lockdown. Absent any other external stimulation, I find that engaging conversation has a nearly magical ability to restart cognition. It may be my own confirmation bias, but I don’t think so. Avner has a ravenous appetite for information and analysis. I love that aspect of his personality. We
Given the option to continue training without the surgery to correct my ACL in December of 2015 or to have the surgery again with the same outcome, I’m not sure I’d do it again. Of course, I’d hope to be more mentally present as my son declined in health but there’s no guarantee that it would play out that way. When I chose to go into surgery for my knee,