Gearing Up Thursday

Owen slept all night in his bed. He woke when I was in the bathroom. And I heard him running about the house, knocking things over as he went. I should have figured out what he was doing, but nonetheless, I started looking for him. There my little Linus was covered up from head to toe under the big blanket that he had dragged through the house to my bedroom. He’s been extremely sleepy the last few days and not wanting to get up in the mornings. It’s hard to get him to settle some nights. He gets something on his mind and he will keep repeating it until he can process the whole thing and let it go or he falls asleep. The days and nights blend together sometimes. Owen woke with the same concerns he fell asleep with. “You can have it”, he said, emphasizing the word “can” emphatically. I really wasn’t sure what he wanted, guessing his tablet or maybe a particular app. I started asking him how to spell certain words, hoping for a response, and to distract him. It distracted him for a moment, but then he started talking about his schedule. I told him at the beginning of the week that he would soon have a day off from school because of the holiday coming up. This has now been a topic of discussion for several days. As we were getting ready to walk out the door for the bus he asked about Monday. He went through his days, telling me what he would do until he got to Monday. He said, “Monday after church I go to school”. I’m excited that he understands what happens on different days of the week, but it’s also hard when our routine does not go according to plan. How do I explain holidays and vacations to someone that wants his routine to stay the same. We walked to the bus stop and he kept stopping me. He comes in front of me, turning towards me, and said, “dis way or de back way”. He starts pushing on my leg with his one hand. I was holding his other hand, otherwise, he would have been using both. I told him no, that we had to go to the bus stop. He likes to be in charge of the direction we are going. That pretty much sums up what he wants for everything, he likes to be in control of every situation. His anxiety runs high when he can’t control them and I have to find a way to keep him calm. I see progress and through that, I can tell how far we’ve come. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make today matter. Smiles to all and donut daze!