Sometimes our wake-up feels very early even though it’s regular time. I don’t know when 5 o’clock in the morning became regular time but that’s what we’re at. Thankfully Owen woke up in a good Sunday mood. Before we left for church our interactions were already in full bloom. He wanted me to play his games with him and kept running up to me to give me a hug. Technically what he was doing is trying to sniff my hair and put it in his mouth but I’m trying to refocus his energy on hugging instead. The morning went fast and then it was time to get ready to go to church. He kept telling me to go to the “white bed” and when he tells me this, it means that he is not ready to do something and has to think about it. I told him if I didn’t get up, we couldn’t go to church. I walk him through the steps hoping this will help him. When he went to put his shoes on before he really even got going, he started squealing about not being able to put them on. He puts them on every day, and yet some days, most days he struggles with them. It’s more about his fine motor skills and not wanting to do something than it is about him actually not being able to accomplish the task. Even though he cries for help I need to wait it out, breathe, and then help him. The calm doesn’t always come for him, for me, if the task is difficult or doesn’t stay exactly routine. When something like the tongue of his shoe doesn’t go in the same direction he is doing it the screams begin. He needs things to be consistent throughout the whole process, but I must wait for him to grow. It’s hard to hear the screams and not immediately go to him and do the steps for him so he will stop screaming. He said, “mmm hmm” to one of my questions. I love when he says words that he feels and expressions of his own emotions. He can also be hard when he says certain things. “Owen eats grass,” he said. In general, he doesn’t eat grass, but he often says things like this where he’s not really doing what he says. This is hard because you want to believe in your child’s words and let them know they are important but you want to also make sure they understand that you were listening and they need to tell the truth. It’s hard because he says it’s so matter-of-factly but yet I know that it’s not something he purposely does or truly does. I could almost imagine at some point that he probably laid down on the ground and plonked a piece of grass in his mouth but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he has done it either. However, I know that his words are important and I want him to understand that his words need to be truthful when he is speaking to others. This is a hard lesson to learn and explain, especially when I am thankful for every single word. When he got ready for bed I told him we needed to say our prayers. He said, “Dear God, happy birthday Amen.” He struggled with going to sleep but once he did, he was sound asleep before he fell asleep he kept running to me and then running to the living room and talking out loud and reciting different words in different languages. I pray that tonight is. I am thankful for his progress, and I am glad that today was another good day with only a side of struggle. Believe in the importance of happiness and know that even through your challenges, it will inspire you to grow and find your motivation. Smiles to all and donut daze!
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