One Small Boat by Kathy Harrison

Author:Kathy Harrison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US

Seven

The sounds of shouting and crashing blocks streamed through the front door of the Children’s Clinic. Every Monday afternoon I brought Daisy there to meet with her therapist, Toni, for an hour. That’s not a lot of time to devote to the rather daunting task of helping weave a child’s fragile little self back together, but it’s all an insurance company will usually pay for. Fortunately, in spite of a head full of auburn curls and deeply dimpled cheeks that made her look more like a college cheerleader than an expert in early childhood trauma, Toni Tonelli was extraordinarily good at what she did. Actually, there was a bit of cheer-leading in it. She kept me focused and motivated to do the day-to-day stuff that was the most helpful to a child who still often refused to eat, panicked at the sound of thunder, and continued to draw graphic pictures of her sexual abuse. I was grateful that Daisy was such a poor artist. As it was, her stick figures made it all too clear what Frank had done to her. I didn’t know that I could have stood much more detail.

I wasn’t sure what Daisy and Toni did together every Monday afternoon. I didn’t ask, and Daisy never offered to talk about it, but I know that after most sessions, Daisy returned to me and collapsed in my lap, looking drained and drawn. Our drive home was often quiet.

The Children’s Clinic was one of several local agencies that provided therapy to children. Although the choice of therapist was up to me, the clinic, as it was usually referred to, was always the first place I called. The staff had expertise in all the issues my children were likely to be dealing with. I could always find a therapist who specialized in trauma, sexual abuse, learning disabilities, anxiety disorders, and attachment problems, as well as the more serious forms of mental illness. The waiting room saw kids whose parents were college professors and kids from the homeless shelter. It was an interesting if sometimes unsettling place. Luckily, therapy for children in foster care is paid for by the state-provided health insurance given to all children on the day they are taken into state custody.

The waiting room group of parents and kids who shared the Monday afternoon timeslot was becoming a family of sorts. We were all a little distant at first, worried, I guess, that any familiarity would seem intrusive, but that didn’t last. First there was some eye contact, then some shared smiles over some funny things one of the kids did, then, finally, conversation. No one ever asked why someone’s kid was being seen. Occasionally, a mother might volunteer some general information, but mostly there was real respect for our kids’ privacy.

One afternoon I found myself sitting alone in the waiting room. It was a school vacation day, and apparently the other parents had opted to keep their kids home. Time alone was a luxury for me. I

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.