Some days are emotional. Today was one of those days. Owen occasionally says things about “Uncle Wichard” and I don’t always have an answer that he understands. Or I understand. We were awake by five in the morning. I was glad for the sleep though. He was ready to go to Grandma's house as soon as he woke up. He kept telling me that he wanted to go bowling, but I had a feeling once he was at grandma's house that it would not necessarily be the choice. He kept running around saying, “It’s October Halloween.” I wondered if we would be able to get him to say that with other holidays. When we got ready to leave, he realized it was cold outside. He’s been noticing more about the temperature and what we have to do with our clothes and jackets. I’m hoping this will help him realize he can wear things like sweatpants and other style pants. He wanted to wear his winter sandals, but I told him that if we were going to go bowling, he needed to wear his sneakers. We got ready to go and then I helped him put on his jacket. We got in the car and then headed towards Grandma's house. He always wants to go in one direction, and he will say by the “red door.” I try to get him to understand that we don’t always have to go the same way, so I make him choose between several options. He chose by the underpass, but he kept talking about going by the red door. I told him the next time we come we can go by the red door. It’s more about the conversation for him than it is actually about going to the red door or getting upset about not going by the red door until it actually upsets him about not going by the red door. Just depends on the day and what his emotions are connected to. It also depends on how distracted I can keep him while we’re driving. In the car, I rolled down the window because there was a fly, and I wanted to see if I could get it to go out the window. Immediately Owen said, “cold” when I put down the window. I love that he’s starting to make those types of connections and being able to share in that conversation with him. Each step like that is a growing experience for both of us. I left to go to a festival and I got to see several of my friends. I went back to get Owen and he said he did not want to go bowling today. I had a feeling once he had been with his grandma that he probably wouldn’t want to go. On Monday and Tuesday, he will be out of school for different teacher events. I’m going to try to take him to go bowling on Monday before or after he goes to spend time with his grandma again. One change in routine can lead to the ripple effect for days, weeks, months, or years to come. It’s learning how to work and adapt with Owen so that he can get through these moments and go back to routine. He struggles in those moments when all he wants to do is exactly what he wants to do. It’s two days for him of not going to school on the bus, not riding the bus home when he is supposed to, and not being able to see his friends. I’m sure there are a lot of other parts to this moving day, but routine is what he thrives in. Every time we have days like this, I try to figure out ways to keep it in more of a routine atmosphere. Having him go to his grandma’s house will help the process. The question is always how to get routine back when anything out of routine is out of routine. After we left his grandma's house, we came home, but every single thing was an event for him. This happens a lot in the car now and he wants to go to every single one of the stops that he likes to make. He started screaming at me, but I think this is part of the learning curve for him. He was screaming and then saying that he was sorry. We got home. The rest of the night went quickly. He wanted a bath immediately and then he ate his dinner over the next hour. He’s excited about going to church tomorrow and wants to go to his grandma's on Monday. I pray once again he sleeps all through the night and then I can get some rest too. Finding ways to help with routine changes is important. I felt growth from him and I could tell that he is starting to understand and have more connections. I’m thankful for his laughter and that beautiful smile. Cherish the moments of those happy memories of days gone by and look to the future of the moments those memories will help you through the day. Smiles to all and donut daze!
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