A Question

Would you, experienced parents, answer a question?

We seem to have reached a stalemate of sorts with the anorexia. For the most part, N is eating normally. He is currently weight-restored. With growth spurts, he'll sometimes drop his weight in proportion to his height which results in a resurgence of anorexic behaviors, but usually we're on top of those drops and help him to bring his weight up as quickly as possible. He has several OCD behaviors that he just can't seem to shake. He is still quite self-conscious and is always fixating on his clothes as well as his relationships with friends. He is struggling a bit to find his identity (but I really attribute that more to his age).

Will we just be maintaining this stalemate indefinitely? Is that what recovery from anorexia looks like? Or will there be a cessation of these low level issues as he matures and stops growing? Is there more we can do to eliminate the current stalemate?

Staycation

Our family took a week-long staycation this past week. N had a few struggles, but we were so busy that he wasn't able to indulge them too much. He did fixate on a few OCD behaviors late in the week. I'm thinking that he was also tired from a long, packed itinerary which had weakened some of his strength against the OCD.

Scout Camp 2009

N just returned from this year's scout camp. This year the leaders planned a local trip for just the 11 or so boys in our congregation. N had a fabulous time! He fished, shot arrows and shotguns, rode a tube down a river, went rock climbing and even repelled. I love that the leaders also included religious discussions nightly.

We donated 60+ candy bars like we did last year. We sent them to make sure that N always had something to eat, which apparently was not a problem at all. His leaders said that N ate well the entire time. N did say that he struggled the first few days with feeling ultra self-conscious. He coped, I think, by relying on some OCD comforts, which is too bad, but typical.

Now, if I could only get him to take a shower! He is so dirty that he literally has dirt caked on the back of his neck.