I’m thankful when sleep happens. This time it happened for both of us. Owen was right back with our routine. Wake up, bathroom, stand by the light switch, wait for me to get my coffee, light off, and then see if he could get back to my bed first. And he did. He was laughing by this point. He grabbed his tablet off my nightstand and was ready to hog my side of the bed because he knew I would tell him to move over. He laughed some more. He said his teacher’s name and then I said when will you see her? He said, “tomorrow no today.” It’s a beautiful thing when you can see language shifting in his mind to figure out how to say something like the days and what words to use to express time. He said, “letter b iron” trying to find it on YouTube instead of saying “letter b island,” but it wouldn’t pull it up. He then said it to me so I would say it to the voice-activated option. I saw how it wasn’t pulling up what he wanted so I asked him to say it and before I could say “slowly” he chimed in with it. I showed him a picture of an iron and told him that’s what an iron looked like so maybe it was another word. He said it to me again this time with a little more twang and the L sound that he struggles with. I said, “is it island?” and he quickly asked for “letter b Island” and the video he wanted sprang to life. When we stood waiting for the bus he was once again focused on wanting to hear the bus. I tried several ways to get him to walk like a duck and he was not interested in that. I tried a couple of different ones and he was still standing, looking towards the stop sign, waiting for the sound of the bus coming. The excitement washed over him once again as the bus turned the corner. When I heard the rain this morning I prayed it wouldn’t rain this afternoon. Knowing that rain can cause Owen to have meltdowns causes me to avoid it at all costs. When he got home the words flowed and flowed and flowed. It’s so beautiful to hear his words. He said, “I’m home now I rode the bus home want to play the monkey game let’s go to the tractors on Wednesday it’s raining now.” It was wonderful to hear the flow of sentences. I kept thinking of it like a waterfall that had just gotten replenished by the rain but yet here we were stuck inside from the rain. An incredible rollercoaster of emotions hit me. So blessed but so on edge every time it rains. When he comes home he looks for his radio that I got rid of. He would scream at it and then if he wasn’t screaming at it he would pull the cord out of the wall and bring it to me to “put in box.” He use to want to hear the music and play the CDs in it and then one day it became something to scream at. I tried several different times to put it out for him and then one night he had a huge meltdown about it so I gave it to his teacher to find a home for it. Not long after the radio became a problem so did his otter toy. It was an alphabet toy that I thought he would love since he liked one that was similar. To quote Owen “nopedy nope.” It had to go. He wanted it in a box every time he saw it too and even when he didn’t see it he would say, “otter in box.” So now there are two items I’ve gotten rid of and two items that he wants to know where they are. Getting rid of, moving anything into a new place, or thinking we have moved past a phase is not something we do and so now I’m not sure if the radio and the otter will be something that he asks me for every day and I won’t be able to get. His words are what I cling to and the connections he is making. He was calm all night. I could tell he needed input because he got in the tubs I use to get our groceries in. He loves sitting in all his sensory bins and other small containers so these were his substitute tonight. The laughter makes my heart happy. Focus on the good stuff. Life can be hard but happiness comes from within. Share your smile today. Smiles to all and donut daze!
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