He was exhausted by the end. He did struggle. But no major behaviors, no hitting, no throwing, no property destruction, no running away.
He expressed some verbal aggression, and as much as that sucks and it's frustrating- he never escalated it! I'm still amazed. I"m so proud.
It definitely helped that the house was pretty quiet most of the weekend. Big sister was very busy with the opening weekend of the musical theater she is in. Plus little one and I went to see and I had to work one of the shows. Keeping home environment as calm and people free helps a lot!
And now here we are, August 1. Girls start school at the end of the month. Ty, I have no idea where things will fall with the current situation we are in legally. (can't say more right now- other than he was kicked out of the independent/homeschool charter school program we were in and doing so well last school year).... so I have no idea what will play out for his schooling. Beyond frustrating- it is always good to have our plan when starting- it allows me to prepare him.
But August 1- summer moving as swiftly as ever. This is typically the month that things settle, things finally feel like they are in a solid groove, Ty thrives more at this point of summer break. It's always been this way since I can remember. Even before he was Dx with Autism. It just was a smoother month than others. And then BAM
School starts up again, things get more hectic, and our very short lived peaceful time (peaceful for us anyway) is over. I have never really looked forward to school starting back up- seems to be the only month, August, that has brought some happy times for our family. (Typically anyway) It's a weird thing..... it's tough when so many others, naturally our out exploring during these vacation days. Sightseeing, exploring, traveling, even just staying up late, watching movies, hanging out with friends, simply allowing summer break to be a calm and peaceful and fun time.
For our family, it's anything but. Oh believe me, I have had my own ideas of what would be fun. I simply was hoping to be able to go the local u pick farm and pick blackberries. Never really felt there was a time he could handle it. I was also hoping to just drive to the farm and buy some melons- that would be considered an outing. But again, definitely not as a family, definitely not with big sister, and really I have to weigh the pros and cons of him getting in the car, with little sister and mom, driving more than a mile. These types of events usually bring on severe anxiety, behavioral issues, and riding in the car with his sister is anything but easy. Serious rules to avoid outbursts. It got much better this past school year. But it's a very short distance coming home. No talking, period. He typically starts demanding something, like french fries, starbucks just because. Even when that was "not part of our plan" which I so clearly laid out from the beginning. We would go from point a to point b and then home. My expectations are always clearly communicated of what I expect in the car. (and yes this has to occur every time we get in the car- otherwise, oh boy.... )
Anyway- just simple things can be a nice change of pace. Like last night- we had almost 5 minutes of the 5 of us sitting in backyard, kind of chatting, just co existing. It was nice- for most this moment would just be not even worth a mentioning. To me, I enjoyed it more than anyone could every know. It was 5 minutes where our family was able to be more like a family. Even a few giggles. (a rare photo of the 5 of us 3 years ago, I think)
I don't want school to begin. I don't want summer to end. I want a few more chances to have a few more moments like we had last night.
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