You Walk On Friday

Owen went to bed excited about going bowling on Saturday and when he got up he was happy about the day yet to come. He woke early, ran to me, asking for his teacher, getting into bed with me, and immediately getting right back out. I knew where this was going. A few moments later here he came with the signature Linus move. The blanket, however, does not create any restful reactions. He twists and turns himself in the blanket, kicking his feet erratically, proclaiming, “bwanket wanna bwanket”. His feet nonstop as he moves the blanket up and down, over his head. A little while later the alarm went off, not that we ever need it. He answered with his trademark, “two more minutes”. I set timers to let him know when bath time is or when he needs to get ready for bed; anything that will help our routine. Whenever I tell him we need to do something he will say “two more minutes” and his second choice being “sixteen minutes”. I’m not sure how that even became a choice. We got ready to go to the bus stop and I heard the rain. I knew that we would take the car to the bus stop. He was listening really well to all my instructions and I easily got him into the car, which isn’t always the case. The last few days have felt like he needed a lot of sensory input. His constant moving, jumping up and down and biting random things like his blanket and the couch tell me there is an uneasiness in his body. I try to help him find peace inside himself. We use compressions, massage, and textures to help soothe him. He now takes his ball that has rounded edge spikes and rolls it on himself. We have a rubberized welcome mat that he loves stepping on, without shoes, and he will even lay down on the mat, seeking the input he wants. My hope is that I provide him the tools and skills that he can learn to comfort his body through these times. Life is ever-changing. Find your motivation and go after your dreams, make them your reality. Smiles to all and donut daze!