Pleasant Monday

Crunch crunch crunch I hear. Owen is stepping on one of his veggie straws he dropped on the floor. Autism is as much about how I handle it as it is about Owen having it. And some days I wonder what do I even say about this stomping of a veggie straw all over the floor or food squished between his toes. It’s sensory input I tell myself. And I take deep breaths, a lot. Sometimes I feel like I’m in a fog all the time, holding an octopus playing a harp in one hand and a slinky in the other. I never know which way I’m coming or going. Owen wasn’t dry when he woke up this morning but the Depends guard did its job. I was wondering how it would work and it did beautifully. I have a feeling he won’t be dry tonight either. It seems like he can go about four nights a week and stay dry. When he came home from school he started asking about the slides. “Wanna go to the slide”, he said. Then he said, ”sing happy birthday to my friend and eat lunch first pwease”. He went back to talking about the slides. “Wanna slide pwease” and he proceeded to sing “happy birthday dear friend” many times through the night. I told him we could go different day but this felt incredible. He doesn’t normally talk about his day or what he wants besides the routine of it all. And here he was going through all the steps from yesterday. My heart rejoices in these moments and sees my son shine. On the way home he asked me about every day of the week and what we were doing, waiting for my reply about the day, and then saying “but I have to”, again waiting for my reply of “you have to go to sleep first”. He is now falling asleep in my arms, holding his light catcher basket, opening his eyes when every noise in the house sounds off. You never realize how many sounds a quiet house makes until you hear every noise through the expressions of your child. Today I had an incredible day, mixed with emotions, but full of joy. Find joy throughout your day, rejoice in the little things, and slide through life with a smile on your face. Smiles to all and donut daze!