Hit with a shoe and I needed it.

                Monday was not my friend and started literally facing difficulties before I even finished my first cup of coffee. I wasn’t happy, not one bit and I know over time when I am not happy my son feels it. We maintained our daily routine but not too far into it I was hit with a shoe. A very small shoe and a very light hit, more like sending a tiny message. When I turned my head a new word came out of his mouth while he was holding a shirt and pants...”ride”.

                When you have a child whose communication is sketchy and he tells you ride, you grab your keys and you go for a ride without hesitation. That is exactly what we did and drove over to grandpa’s house for a short visit. During that visit three more things happened and one happens from time to time but the others never. He grabbed a tall lamp and said “cool” while he investigated it and he will do this on occasion but not usually in front of anyone. The second thing he did was try to open the door and when it didn’t open he came over to me and said “go”. Directly communicating what he wanted to do. The third was also something that almost never happens. My dad’s dog was being a bit overly friendly and trying to get a good sniff of Phillip’s toys. I told Phillip to say “no, no, no” to the dog but typically I will tell him to say something and we go blank. That’s when Phillip looked at the dog and repeated “no, no, no.” with quite the stern look.

                All of those awesome moments in just a short time and he knew mom was not having a good morning. In fact mom was completely exhausted from the challenges being thrown into life that have nothing to do with autism at all. I was even dreading getting through the rest of the day with my sanity in check. I had really lost my positive outlook and felt like my face was being pulled down with weights. A smile was not going to come, not a real one anyway. I knew the outside forces had in fact won the day no matter how bad I didn’t want that to happen. The bad part was I could have prevented it by not engaging in the battle to begin with, lesson learned.

                I was at a loss for how to turn the day around, then a shoe hit me and a new word came out with enthusiasm. A shoe and a word that served as a reminder the day was still ours and it was only the beginning of the day. A reminder he had progress to show me and smiles to share and a tiny reminder that as much as he needs me, I need him.