Thanksgiving and Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Five days with Nick home. He was absolutely wonderful…so excited about Thanksgiving this year! I can’t wait until Christmas!

Nick must have really been paying attention at school this year when they talked about turkey, family, etc.. When I went to get him out of bed on Thanksgiving morning,  I started to try to get him excited about the day. It didn’t take much, and I won’t do that again too soon! He rocked SO hard in his wheelchair for SO long (good thing for tip-bars) that he actually worked up a sweat and needed a shower! That wasn’t a big deal, but his little legs were shaking, and muscle spasms began. His legs and feet are very tight to begin with, but such excitement causes contractures that reap havoc on him. The warm shower, quiet music and leg massages we provided must have helped, because he was fine shortly after.

We visited my in-laws for turkey day this year. They’re always so wonderful with Nick. He loves his Gramma’s soft voice (she knows to be quiet), and he was amazingly gentle with his one year old cousin, Sydney. With me, his dad, and everyone else, he’ll pull at our hair, ears and nose. Not to mention the poor dogs! But he was so different with Sydney. He gently put his hand on top of her head and slowly moved it across her baby-fine hair. I always knew he loved babies, but this was truly amazing to me that he knew he needed to be so gentle with her. You know, one of those ‘oh my god’ moments.

We stayed for over 3 hours. I don’t think we’ve ever had such a good, long visit. Nick generally decides it’s time to go home within just 2 hours. We brought his iPod, which I can’t stress enough has been a day-saver for us many, many times. Nick even shared it with Sydney! His headphones were so heavy on her head that she was tipping over, LOL!

The rest of our weekend was fairly quiet, but for some reason, Nick was crazy with excitement on Sunday morning. I wish so badly sometimes that I knew what he was thinking. My guess is he had a dream of an exciting day ahead. Again, he rocked so hard he was sweating and shaking, and this time, his legs and feet stayed sore. They were still sore this morning.

He woke up happy today, though. I didn’t tell him he was going to school until about 10 minutes before we left (for fear of excitement setting in again). It’s a 35 minute drive there, and half way through the trip, he started to get upset. He wasn’t rubbing his head or digging at his hands (his self-abusive acts), but rather crying sadly. The first day back to school after a long weekend or vacation is always a tough one at first. I’m flattered that he loves to spend time with his family, but sad to see him cry. I would have stayed to make sure that he would be okay, but I have such confidence in the school that he’s at now that I left and told them to call if he didn’t settle down. I haven’t received a call from school , so I’m sure he’s fine. He absolutely loves school now. Not the case in previous classes, but that’s another story.

And I’m having a hard time doing much of anything today. It’s raining, I have laundry, other housework and shopping to do.  But it won’t get done. I’m not sure if I just miss Nick, or just need to relax after the long weekend. In either case, blogging and reading other people’s blogs is good to clear my mind.

Which reminds me, I’d like to mention a blog that a woman named Lindsey Petersen writes. She must have run across this web site and sent me an email about her blog. Let me tell you, it’s a definite Must Read! I’ve only read a couple of posts, but this woman is amazingly patient, down to earth and has a great outlook on life with kids that aren’t your average kid! The blog is titled Raising 5 Kids with Disabilities and Remaining Sane Blog. I think the title says it all! I’ll be personally inviting her to join our network. Even if she doesn’t, I’m definitely adding a link to her site in the Yellow Pages…

And I’m SO happy to see that a few more members have joined over the holiday weekend. Welcome!

I promise I’ll be working hard on adding some new gift ideas this week. I just needed the rest of today OFF.

~ Lorna