Seems like the day will never end, to bad it will!

               Yesterday was one of those days that just seemed like bed couldn’t come soon enough. Beginning with an early doctor’s appointment which the world around me refused to let us get to on time. After trying to wrangle some pee in a cup for testing then only finding a cup to put it in that I had little faith in and stuffing it in my pocket, we met the world’s longest slow moving train on the tracks to get to the highway. Once we reached the highway we met construction for nearly the entire seventeen miles to the clinic. We made it just in time to hold the appointment. The clinic has a great play area with toys that are perfect for a child who is on the spectrum. This gave him just enough to time to get totally focused on the toys before they called his name.  

                I made the mistake of bringing my coffee mug in with me so when his name was called I had to break his focus and wrestle him through the door. At this point I had a child that is all arms and legs putting up a fight from a too quick transition, a room full of spectators, clinging to a coffee mug that should have stayed in the van, and an questionably sealed cup of pee in my pocket.  At this point I gave the coffee mug to the nurse to carry. Since Phillip was already in battle mode I knew the rest of the appt would not go well. The nurse tried to weigh him and tried to check his vitals but we are now at the point touch is a problem. He was still focused on those fabulous toys I just yanked him away from.

                I offered the nurse the pee I had in my pocket for the UTI test and giggled when she put on a rubber glove before I handed it to her. Yes it’s gross but the journey the pee made without fail was a good sign she was safe.  In the end we ended up with our first prescription that is supposed to be given for seven days. The pharmacist said to me, it doesn’t taste that bad, as though it shouldn’t be a problem. Again I was given a giggle because unless it tastes exactly like tapioca pudding it’s not going to go down well ,if it goes down at all. We are on day two and I am going to have to call Monday for a different option because the medicine does in fact not taste like tapioca pudding.

                Once we finally made it home it was a constant and long day of Phillip wanting to take a bath as he figured out that was the only way to get relief from a painful UTI. The challenge with that is, when my son isn’t feeling his best some of those spectrum side effects shine through such as turning the bath water off. This is an old problem we conquered long ago but it came back full force. Five baths total for the day and each one we had complete upset when the water was shut off. One of which he became so out of control I had to remove him from the bathroom and put him in his room to calm down. To explain this challenge it has to do with sound of the water flowing. It runs long enough for him to get comfortable and then when I shut it down it is a frustrating fast change. If he feels unhealthy these fast changes are much harder for him to process. We had a full day of these challenges and mom was exhausted.

                By ten o’clock I was literally begging my son in my mind to pass out for the night and at ten thirty my silent begging paid off. I was craving my pillow more than a heroin addict craves a fix but there was my oldest son sitting on the couch watching movies. One thing I love is just a little free time to sit and talk with my older kids and what I love was staring me right in the face no matter how bad I wanted to go to bed. I sat up with my son watching an old movie, showing him some old comedy and having some good laughs. Soon it was midnight and I just couldn’t stay up any longer but the longest day ever ended perfectly. In fact I would say I am entirely grateful the day was as long as it was because just sitting around with my son seeing his smile and hearing him laugh was more than worth the time added to the day.

                A difficult exhausting day that ended with an hour and half of exactly what I needed to feel gratitude for endless day, and by midnight I felt as though the day just wasn’t long enough.