Drum camp began Monday, 8 to 5 every day. Saturday we'll go to Daddy's convention, then next Friday starts summer band, which goes until school starts, with maybe a day or two of exception. So the indulgent time of having Daddy home is over. Contrary to what you may have heard, teachers do not spend the whole summer playing around doing nothing, and they certainly do not get the "whole summer off". But I digress.
With Eric being out all day and everyone home, we have to find a way to get our groceries. I know, not a big deal. Everyone takes their kids to the store, right? There's generally no begging for toys. Thankfully, our boundaries for what we buy are so far well-repected with the kids. We walk through and look at toys, but we don't buy. Then we go get what we need and go. There's little fussing over wanting to leave, some about whether or not they should get to walk or ride. Mostly our challenges revolve around keeping Ryan going, and after a while, keeping Richie and Maelynn from torturing each other to death.
Maybe I shouldn't admit that... but yeah, my neurotypical siblings fight like, well, brother and sister. There ya go.
I have to say, I'm so proud of Ryan.
Usually when I say that, I'm proud because he managed to sorta-kinda conform to what society would deem "normal". That or he sat in the cart, playing iPod with headphones to keep him in his own little world. Basically, I'd usually say that because he stayed pretty quiet and didn't cost me much effort. Wow, that sounds selfish.
Especially in contrast to how our trip to the local corporate conglomerate super store went yesterday.
Every now and again, I feel compelled to just do it. Just try something because if I don't try, it'll never happen. We have to stretch his boundaries. We have to try.
So we loaded the van unarmed. Yes, I had seatbelts. Yes, I did have my list. Yes, I did have my Mom. No, I did not have the iPod and headphones.
Usually, I don't let the kids ride in those ginormous, tractor-trailer carts with special kid seats. For some reason, those things bring out the angry-cat-stuffed-in-a-pillowcase in my littles. This time? Why not. We're living dangerously today.
It was definitely not a relaxing trip. Knowing that I can become distracted and he'll be gone in an instant is hard. He does not stand still. He's not really a high-bounce-ball in a concrete box type of kid... more of a freight train. Once he's going, he needs to keep going. Once he's stopped, it'll take a while to get started. And he'll derail if you push too hard.
I tried letting him choose some products for me, but that wasn't going as well as I'd hoped. He did love reading loudly the numbers on the aisle markers.
Do you see a five, Mom? Do you see a number five? I see a number five, Mom!
We walked through toys, and the only time he got hung up was on a baby's driving toy. Many lights, many sounds, and a steering wheel. How could you resist, right?
He skipped happy-stimmy through the store with many "stay with Mommy" reminders, calling out aisle numbers and reading this and that. Then it happened.
In the dairy aisle, where I start at the back getting the actual food part of our grocery trip, he stimmed over to a mom and said, "Hello there!"
I mean, he was really in her personal space.
She smiled and said hello. Clearly amused by his transparency, she smiled at me too.
There was a bottleneck around the spot where the eggs meet the biscuits and such, so we stopped. As I went to choose a loaf of French bread off the day old rack to make French toast, he kinda sat in a thankfully empty spot where the eggs go and began saying hello to another lady. She also smiled and talked to him, and commented to me on how much he was enjoying himself.
I began to stand a little straighter. My shoulders came down from my ears.
Over and over, he ran nearly into people, talking to them about the trip coming this weekend.
You will go to the hotel and San Antonio and go to level R!
Even the stocker bent over working on the lunchmeat. Ryan bent with him, found his face, and spouted his greeting.
Every person at least smiled at both of us. How could you not smile back at this face?
With Eric being out all day and everyone home, we have to find a way to get our groceries. I know, not a big deal. Everyone takes their kids to the store, right? There's generally no begging for toys. Thankfully, our boundaries for what we buy are so far well-repected with the kids. We walk through and look at toys, but we don't buy. Then we go get what we need and go. There's little fussing over wanting to leave, some about whether or not they should get to walk or ride. Mostly our challenges revolve around keeping Ryan going, and after a while, keeping Richie and Maelynn from torturing each other to death.
Maybe I shouldn't admit that... but yeah, my neurotypical siblings fight like, well, brother and sister. There ya go.
I have to say, I'm so proud of Ryan.
Usually when I say that, I'm proud because he managed to sorta-kinda conform to what society would deem "normal". That or he sat in the cart, playing iPod with headphones to keep him in his own little world. Basically, I'd usually say that because he stayed pretty quiet and didn't cost me much effort. Wow, that sounds selfish.
Especially in contrast to how our trip to the local corporate conglomerate super store went yesterday.
Every now and again, I feel compelled to just do it. Just try something because if I don't try, it'll never happen. We have to stretch his boundaries. We have to try.
So we loaded the van unarmed. Yes, I had seatbelts. Yes, I did have my list. Yes, I did have my Mom. No, I did not have the iPod and headphones.
Usually, I don't let the kids ride in those ginormous, tractor-trailer carts with special kid seats. For some reason, those things bring out the angry-cat-stuffed-in-a-pillowcase in my littles. This time? Why not. We're living dangerously today.
It was definitely not a relaxing trip. Knowing that I can become distracted and he'll be gone in an instant is hard. He does not stand still. He's not really a high-bounce-ball in a concrete box type of kid... more of a freight train. Once he's going, he needs to keep going. Once he's stopped, it'll take a while to get started. And he'll derail if you push too hard.
I tried letting him choose some products for me, but that wasn't going as well as I'd hoped. He did love reading loudly the numbers on the aisle markers.
Do you see a five, Mom? Do you see a number five? I see a number five, Mom!
We walked through toys, and the only time he got hung up was on a baby's driving toy. Many lights, many sounds, and a steering wheel. How could you resist, right?
He skipped happy-stimmy through the store with many "stay with Mommy" reminders, calling out aisle numbers and reading this and that. Then it happened.
In the dairy aisle, where I start at the back getting the actual food part of our grocery trip, he stimmed over to a mom and said, "Hello there!"
I mean, he was really in her personal space.
She smiled and said hello. Clearly amused by his transparency, she smiled at me too.
There was a bottleneck around the spot where the eggs meet the biscuits and such, so we stopped. As I went to choose a loaf of French bread off the day old rack to make French toast, he kinda sat in a thankfully empty spot where the eggs go and began saying hello to another lady. She also smiled and talked to him, and commented to me on how much he was enjoying himself.
I began to stand a little straighter. My shoulders came down from my ears.
Over and over, he ran nearly into people, talking to them about the trip coming this weekend.
You will go to the hotel and San Antonio and go to level R!
Even the stocker bent over working on the lunchmeat. Ryan bent with him, found his face, and spouted his greeting.
Every person at least smiled at both of us. How could you not smile back at this face?
I was proud of Ryan for the reason I'm supposed to be proud of Ryan. He wasn't easy to keep with me, he wasn't easy to keep up with. There were a few times I had to leave my poor mother standing there looking at something so that I could stay with the train.
He wasn't easy. He was amazing. Inspiring. Wonderful.
He was as God made him. Unapologetically, he was himself. And you know what? I think he might have blessed a few people. I know he blessed his Mama.
Thanks be to God for Ryan's sweetness... and for those who saw it yesterday.
AW. I teared up reading this. I'm so glad y'all had a good trip.
ReplyDelete