To The Point Thursday

Day three of the octopus report and I may have beaten Owen at his own game. It was raining this morning. I wasn’t sure if we would have to take the car to the bus stop so I knew I needed to get Owen going. I turned on his bedroom light, but I knew that as soon as I did it he would cover his head. On to the second stage of the plan. I put his tablet in the hall. I then turned on the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and waited. I figured it wouldn’t take long and he would be darting out of his bed to turn it off. He loves the song, loves playing it on his tablet, but only when it is his idea. I was ready for him when he got to the tablet. I knew if I wasn’t ready he would either take his tablet and head to my bed or back to his. I got Grumpy McGrumpyson into the bathroom and he “peepeed in de potty”. We were on a roll. His teeth and hair were done albeit quickly, but done. Hey, that was better than the whole week. Next came clothes. He’s been in a diaper at night, but I ordered night training pants. Every day he is doing better with the process and the changing of the rules in his world. When you have a sensory-driven mindset there is a big difference between underwear and a diaper. I have to let go of my own expectations of how something should be and try to understand and think through how he sees the options. A diaper is all he knows so the change is daunting for him. The same for winter clothes versus summer clothes. We’ve had a few cool mornings and he wants nothing to do with a coat. I’m trying to slowly transition from shorts at home to lounge pants. I walked him to the bus in yoga pants that have pockets. Today the pockets were filled with more things than normal. I had carried my wallet in case we needed to take the car to the bus stop. I had to distract Owen from focusing on my pockets because he was about to go into a meltdown over the fact that they were different. He sees the littlest of details. And through his eyes, I’ve learned to appreciate the small things and celebrate all of our victories. Count your victories one by one. Make today matter. Smiles to all and donut daze!