Long Time Coming

It has been weeks, really months, since Hal has gotten really stuck and had a melt down. And he has been so on top of his game, Kiki didn't see the Memorial Day 2011 meltdown coming. One minute he was helping his uncle with the grill, then he was asking to go home, then again to go home, then embarrassingly asking to go home, then insistent and Kiki was more embarrassed. Really, Kiki wasn't listening to Hal. She was enjoying time with her family and didn't see the stress in Hal that she would see on the car ride. As they walked down the drive way to the car, Hal was starting to cry and Kiki was really surprised and concerned. Hal couldn't really explain why he was so stressed, why it had been so hard to be at a family picnic for four hours, and Kiki felt sorry that she had thought he was ok and just complaining. How had she missed that Hal was really not ok. Maybe it was the fact that he would be changing schools in upcoming weeks? Maybe it was that he was 13 and a bundle of craziness? Maybe it was having Friday off from school and forgetting to do his homework and suddenly realizing it had to be done for Tuesday morning? Maybe it was merely the heat and the mosquitoes? At home, Hal continued to be stuck and upset, pleading for time on the computer to help him calm down. Kiki felt she couldn't give in as the "authorities" said no screen time after 8 p.m. to help kids calm down prior to bed. No extra stimulation from TVs, computers, DS/GameBoys, etc. Kiki heard Hal crying from inside the bathroom where he was sitting on the floor of the tub with the shower streaming down on him. It was a bad feeling, a helpless feeling.