Turtle Days

90% of the time I love living in town. We can walk to the park or the playground, ride bikes to magic wand and it only takes 3 minutes to get to church.
BUT
Not this weekend, it's Turtle Days so my son started obsessing about the fair on Sunday after church when he noticed the trailers pulling into town. I literally had to drive him through the park to see that none of the rides are assembled and he's not missing it yet. Of course, he can see the park from our street and he's watching the progress like a hawk. Yesterday, I endured 2 meltdowns and incessant references to "the fair". Here is just a sampling:
"We go to the fair"
"I ride the Ferris wheel"
"I will play the ducky game"
"Bart Simpson will play the water game"
"Let's go to the fair"
"We'll go to the fair on Wednesday"
"Wednesday"
"Fair"

Now, just repeat those comments about 50 times each, with greater intensity and you get the picture.

I really shouldn't complain, it's wonderful to have him excited about it. Honestly, all the other kids are excited too, just not OBSESSIVE! I'll be sure to update regarding how it all goes in the end. Keeping my fingers crossed that he doesn't freak out when it leaves town!

The New Bible

Jackson got a new bible from the church on Sunday.
The children's team gives all incoming 6th grades a new teen version bible. The layout is actually quite cool.
I was concerned about how it would go for Jack. Walking to the front of the church alone to receive his bible isn't something I was sure he'd be up to. We talked about it a bit before the pastor began calling names. Here is a synopsis of our conversation:

Me: "You have to go up to the front and get your new bible"
Jax: "No thank you"
Me: "Yes, they will call your name. Jhai will go up and Josh and Shyenne"
Jax: "No"

So, anxiously, we both waited for the time in the service when the 6th graders were awarded new bibles...

The pastor began calling names.
Amy, Jhai, Josh, Shyenne, Kendall, Jackson, Julia, Noah

Me: "You have to go up and get your bible"
Jax: "No" (as he's standing up)
Me: "Do you want mommy to come with you?"
Jax: "No, you stay there mommy"

And, my sweet son walked up with minimal protest and got his bible.
My heart swelled with pride; doing so was no small task for this big boy.
Again, he takes my breath away with his progress and asserts his independence.
God is good!

Paradigm Shift

It just hit me.
Like. A. Mac. Truck.

All this time, I've been trying to play the mediator, the educator in this.
Wrong Playbook.

I'm the parent.
I'm the advocate.
I'm the voice.
I'm the expert.

My role is to act on behalf of my child
Who cannot speak for himself.

Paradigm shift, I get in now.

In it to win it.

My Hero of the Week

I was at the park yesterday morning for another ball game; seems like we are there more than at home lately. Jackson had a good time hanging out in the dugout with his team, shouting "hey batter, batter" with them. Then he got a little silly, putting on the blanket I took to keep warm around his neck and saying, "Jackson is a super hero!" At that point, I decided he was "done" in the dugout and let him go to the playground to play for a bit. He played on the swings with his "cape". [I suppose at this point, you're thinking Jackson is my hero of the week, and that would be true as well, though not who I was thinking as I typed this title. ;)]

As Jackson was swinging a friend of ours from church walked by with his son's baseball team. He stopped to tell me about playing kickball with the kids at school during the Cinco De Mayo celebrations. Here is what happened:

"Jackson was just watching the kids playing kickball, so I asked him if he wanted to play. He stepped up to the plate and kicked and missed the first ball. I told him, common Jackson, you can do it! On the next pitch he kicked the ball out and ran to first base. When he got to first base he stopped and put his hands in the air and yelled, 'I did it!' He was so proud of himself!"

So, my hero this week is my friend Mark. First, for encouraging my son to play and then for telling me the story. The magic is, Mark was just as proud of Jackson in that moment as I would have been. It still brings tears to my eyes.

Baseball

Jackson had his second baseball game last night.
He did well; though like usual, in a different way than I expected.

When we first got to the diamond, he went into the dug out and sat down on the top of the bench, like all the other boys were doing. (This is great social referencing). Then when it was time for the national anthem, he lined up with his team down the third base line and took off his hat (with the help of coach Tony) and stood quietly and still while the anthem was played. Later, Anthony and Josh helped him learn about sunflower seeds. It took a few tries, but eventually, he got to where he'd put the seed in his mouth, lick off the salt, then spit it out. After the game, he sat down on the grass with Josh and listened to Coach Doug talk about game highlights.

He didn't go after any bats, but he did have a successful game.
I am once again grateful and awed by the support and encouragement he is given by others. Last night, I needed a victory for Jackson; and we got one.

Getting it Right

Middle School--challenging time for nuerotypical kids right?
Put yourself in my autistic son's shoes.
I'm trying to go there to sort this out.
What is best for him?
What would he want?

Of course, when I ask him, he wants to be with his friends.
He wants to stay where he is familiar.
To the extent that he can answer that is.
Change isn't easy for any of us, but especially not for him.

Words fail me, and if you know me, that's kind of hard to believe...

Take Me out to the Ball Game

Youth League Season is here! This year Jackson is going to be a bat boy for a team of his peers. We feel like he's mature enough to understand the safety issues involved. He's been doing a decent job of warming up with the boys and stays engaged in practice for about 20 minutes, but hadn't really had a chance to "get the bats".

Tonight was the first practice that he had the chance to be the "bat boy". I was really surprised how well he did. He wanted to put the bats into the fence and was picking up the multiple bats laying on the ground. I was really proud of him; and I almost didn't take him to practice tonight. I had a meeting after work and then a late meeting at church, so I was going to skip practice, but Jackson was asking about practice within 15 minutes of getting home. ("You go to baseball?" and "Baseball practice is tonight"). So, I packed them in the van and headed to the park. I'm so glad I did! Of course, the boys on his team are sweet and encouraging to him. I'm hopeful that it'll be a fun season. Saturday morning is team pictures; say a prayer that he does ok...sometimes photos can freak him out.