Determined Tuesday

I woke up several times last night. But thankfully Owen slept. Sometimes I wake up just to go check on him. Last night was one of those nights. I hear every noise and then I have to check to make sure he didn’t hear them. I’m thankful he is back to sleeping better. He didn’t wake until after six. He came to me with a mission but he was in a good mood. He wanted his tablet and to go see grandma. I scooped him up and started tickling him. This was probably not the wisest thing since he hadn’t gone to the bathroom yet but he laughed and it was nice to see the happiness shine in his eyes again after being so sick. I told him to go to the bathroom and then he could have his tablet. Off he ran. A few minutes later he came back for his tablet while I was getting his breakfast started. He knew he was going to grandma’s house but neither one of us was moving very fast. I was fine with that. He started playing one of his favorite apps and in general, he always uses the same sled unless I play with him. Today was the day. I always tell him to try different sleds that I want to see them. I’ll try one and occasionally he will let me finish the race with it but most of the time he closes the app and moves on. When I was putting his breakfast on the table he was using another different sled. I was excited. He was able to do all the things he does with his favorite sled and he still found a way to stretch it out like the app isn’t supposed to do. I watched him as he finished each race and then got a different sled. This was a huge step for him to keep trying the different sleds. I let him know how proud of him I was. We started getting ready to leave and it seemed like time stood still even more. We finally walked out the door in between the times that it was raining. The rain gets me. I’m always worried it is going to cause a huge meltdown. We got to my mom’s and he was so happy to be there. He stayed for several hours. In the morning before we left, he said he wanted to go to the park and ride his bike. He also said he wanted to “go to the drive-thru for chicken nuggets french fries plain cheeseburger.” However, when he got to grandma’s house he decided he didn’t want to do it until he said he didn’t want to do it so we did it when he decided he wanted to do it. He had about five minutes at the park because the rain came down. Thankfully he didn’t get upset and moved right along to going with my mom to get his food. I followed them. He doesn’t want to go inside. He wants it ordered through the drive-thru so he can go through the dialog from a video he watches. By the time they were done, it was pouring. My mom pulled up next to me but when I got out of the car the puddles were already deep. We decided to go under the cover of the gas station. Thankfully by the time we got home, it had slowed down tremendously. We were able to get inside without a huge meltdown. I thanked God over and over and over again. He had lots of conversations with Alexa and he sometimes would ask me to help and other times he would ask on his own. “The Farmer in the Dell by kangaroo,” he said and she pulled up something that made him laugh. This went on for several other songs. He sat eating his dinner talking to Alexa and reciting the video he has heard countless times about the drive-thru. He wanted to make sure his cheeseburger had no lettuce on it. This wasn’t his question but he was saying it because it was on a video he had watched. He was beyond thrilled that tomorrow he gets to see his teacher again and ride the bus. Routine returns and he is happy. For some reason he now wants his nightstand lamp left on while he is falling asleep. I leave it on for a while and then turn it off when I’m going to bed. I wonder if he has a reason. One day I know he will be able to explain. He has made incredible strides and I’m extremely proud of him. Believe in yourself and the rest will follow. Know that you are incredible and can change the world. Smiles to all and donut daze!