Sometimes, it’s good to take a step back and reflect on how far you have come.
People ask me how Jonah is doing.
My initial response is to say something like “oh, we’ve been between therapists for over a year and school has been a huge adjustment so we’re sort of just ‘treading water’ developmentally right now.”
But the more I think about it, the more I realize, that’s not true AT ALL.
For example:
Today, I took my Dad and my boys to a Mariners baseball game.
There were thousands of people there. There were busy streets with lots of cars.
There were loud, unexpected sounds. There was loud music playing. People would spontaneously start yelling. They would scream. They would cheer. They would sing. They would dance.
They were unpredictable.
These are all behaviors that have spiked Jonah’s anxiety in the past.
Me of 5 years ago would have called me of today “unprepared.”
I had NO bags with me. No emergency snacks. No drinks or sippy cups. No pull-ups or diapers. No “emergency toys.” No “immediate redirection objects.” No change of clothes. No extra shoes (you’d be surprised). No stroller. No neon-colored apparel. No kid-tracking devices.
There was a time when ALL of that was ESSENTIAL FOR ANY TRIP, ANYWHERE.
I had NONE OF THAT.
Because I did NOT need it…
…and not only that, I KNEW I would not need it.
Jonah has eloped 4 times on us in the past.
He never left our side today.
Jonah has been known to run when he feels anxious. We have had to use strollers to give him a place of “calm” and to keep him from bolting into the crowd (long after he actually “fit” in the stroller)
We didn’t need that today. He sat in his seat for the ENTIRE GAME today, nearly 3+ hours. No prompting was necessary. He wasn’t even interested in getting up.
Jonah would get anxious when he couldn’t control his situation and would become agitated or react negatively as a result.
Today, he played with Papa, sat in his seat, and actually enjoyed his experience at the ball park.
5 years ago, there was NO WAY I’d even think about taking Jonah to a Major League Baseball game.
Today, the game went into EXTRA INNINGS, and we stayed until the very end. No whining. No protesting. No agitation.
I actually got to RELAX at the ballpark!
Do you have ANY IDEA what the me of 5 years ago would have given for a day like today?
“We went to the ballpark with thousands of people, watched the ball game, cheered our team, had FUN, and came home without feeling like we needed to collapse from exhaustion.”
Do you know how much work has gone into making that possible?
So, no. We are not “treading water,” developmentally.
Today, we had an “uneventful day” at a MAJOR EVENT.
And THAT is an accomplishment worth celebrating.
#ausome
What “uneventful days” are YOU celebrating?