Tic Survival Tips: Never underestimate house plants

I have a friend who I adore. She’s so very real about her kid’s T.S.. She says that when her daughter was eye rolling really badly, she’d rearrange the houseplants on the breakfast table so she wouldn’t have to look.

It might sound drastic and mean.

I call it survival.

And I get it. It’s not that she is a horrible mother. Far from it. She’s a mom who loves her kid so much she feels the pain of every single tic. Every single time.

I have gotten waaaay better at dealing with tics, but even me – who my lovely support group calls “their fearless leader” – has moments of weakness and frustration. When Tarzan came back last week, despite the noises being faint, it sent me on a slow decline.

Yesterday, he was reading and mouth gaping over Captain Underpants.

Oh, and guess what, he is coming down with a cold and possible strep. Duh. Why can’t I remember that so many of his tics are tied into a weakened immune system?

For the first time in a while, I felt true defeat. As I was driving to the doctor’s office, I said to him, “Stink, you need to put that book down right this very second!”

I was frazzled. I am human. Apparently those angel wings I ordered are just not going to arrive from QVC!

I might not rearrange houseplants, but I’ve been known to stick deep diving plugs in my ears when his vocals are relentless.

I’ve made Rex read bedtime stories because I couldn’t handle another throat clear.

I’ve sent him away on weekends to friends I don’t see very often just so I could get a break from the coughing five times/a minute. (And what does he do? Come back tic free. Of course!)

Point of this post? You are not a bad mother if you need a break, feel frustrated, or even rearrange a garden pot or two.

Survival, my friends.

I’m off! It’s my birthday today, and rather than obsess over tics, I went on email and announced to my Friday group “Who can take my kids until 7PM on Tuesday for me!” Two people responded right away – God bless them. My kids saw a movie, at popcorn and maybe even conned them into a drink. ASK IF I CARE.

How about you? What are some of your survival tips? Or do tics not bug you? Or do you just smoke the doobage and eat Cheetos? I hear weed totally calms down tics. But the food dye in Cheetos? Meh.