Two big things that matter to Owen are my hair and my glasses. Thankfully he does not have as many meltdowns now about them as he did when he was younger but they are still of great concern. Yesterday was extremely rough for him. I had a bad headache. I would put my hands up to my eyes, underneath my glasses. It’s something I do not even think about it doing, completely a reflex. My body, my eyes, his anxiousness, his screams. He comes running across the room, touching my arm, yelling, “summer glasses”. All glasses are called summer glasses to Owen. This used to happen every day for any reason my hands would get close to my face. And my hair, we go through the exact same thing. I would tell Owen my hair is fine. He didn’t want me to hold it out of my face or pull it back in any way. We have made progress but there are still days that he can’t process it and the meltdowns happen. I have to be the picture of mommy and if I change too much it is hard for him to understand. He views everyone like this, needing them to be the way they are, and look the same way. I think back to when he couldn’t express himself and how he would scream, ripping handfuls of my hair out at one time. My heart aches for my baby. I had to work through all of these steps with him. Now he will touch my hair, saying, “hair is fine”. We have been working on getting him to wear the hood of his jacket or even to let me wear my hair back without a meltdown. These steps take time and are very emotional for both of us. Me, the girl that loved to wear her hair up and a thousand different hats hardly ever pulls my hair back now. Owen’s smile keeps me going. Together we learn and grow. Through his eyes, I’m learning compassion and understanding like I never knew before. Find your inspiration and change your world. Smiles to all and donut daze!
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