we all know how this saying ends.

L has been doing so well over the past month.  Certainly not perfect, but really well.  The all of a sudden, this weekend, he started stealing again.  Money from dad’s wallet, item’s from N’s bedroom, being a bad playmate to a little boy who came over, etc.

The old me would have spent hours analyzing this sudden change in behavior, trying to figure out the reasons behind it, so we could come up with a solution.

The new me has come to accept these steps backwards as a temporary thing – we’ve seen in the past that he can move forward, and we know he will again this time.  If anything, we’ll just be a little more observant, stopping him before he can act on his negative impulsis.  But thats all.

This is part of the process of older child adoption – learning to accept what looks like a major step backward as just a temporary blip, and learning to love your child not just in spite of the blips, but because of them.