Ike

Ike (not real name) was a six years old when we got him. I turned seven right after he left. We had him, his brother (Sugar Ray) and baby sister (Flower) for about sixteen weeks. It sure felt like longer.

Ike was being treated for ADHD. We tried to take him off his medicine but that only lasted a few days. He requested to have his medicine back because it helped him think better.

We had trouble at first because he would get in trouble at school but never at home. I can't count on one hand how many times he got suspended and they would call me to pick him up. At first it didn't seem like he cared if he got in trouble by me for getting suspended but later he would cry and he even refused to come out of the school. I knew he cared what I thought. I was actually easier on him after that. After school was over for the summer, he was much happier.

Ike bonded with DH soon after he arrived. It took longer to bond with me. In fact, I don't think we really bonded until about six weeks before he left. One day I just went up to him and tickled him. He laughed and said to stop. I stopped until he told me later that he wasn't ticklish, while he was laughing. After that I would tickle him randomly. We also began snuggling after the little ones went to bed. We would find something to watch on TV and sit in my big chair together for about a hour or until he got sleepy. When we first started snuggling he would just watch TV but after a few weeks, I noticed he was looking at me more than the TV. It was as if he was studying my face to remember always. Kind of like LP used to do. I miss snuggling with my little snuggle boy.