I guess my perspective changed a little this year, because in spite of the fact that Spring Break wasn't perfect - it was messy, complicated, and carried it's own challenges for Jack and myself, as this life tends to do - it was a week, nearly a full week, that my boy was all mine.
He was mine to deal with when it came to meltdowns - in my own way. There were no therapists telling us focus on one thing or another. There wasn't a school bus to catch. Our days were ours to plan and do as we saw fit. It was all about Jack, what kind of mood he was in that day, and what he could handle at any given moment.
It was a week that no one was pushing him. There were no scolds for stimming, W-sitting, or not communicating in a particular way that they're working on at the moment. It was a week for Jack to stim, line things up, sit how he sits, and communicate how he communicates - even if that means no words at all.
In essence, it was a week for Jack to just be Jack. He could just be Jack in whatever capacity that brought. He could be Jack if that meant he had a meltdown. He could be Jack flapping his hands. He could be Jack lining up Easter Eggs, but the important thing is that he could just BE.
Sure, we had a little help. Jack's birthday provided him a host of things to do during the break. We got a water table and engaged in a good amount of sensory play. Towards the end of the week, he got a swing set. Oh, the expressions of joy from his face.
And there were not so great moments, too. Tuesday was particularly difficult, with Jack just unable to stay regulated. What was nice about last week was that each time my boy struggled, I was the one to help him through. Instead of frustration by a therapist because a meltdown was taking away from his treatment session, I was able to take the time - get down on his level - and just sit with him until his little body found peace, however long that may have taken. Instead of everyone else dealing with the meltdowns, the person who probably knows my boy's every cry and grunt and squeal best - his Mama - was the one tending to him. No, it didn't make it easy on me, but I let each meltdown this week with the hope that it made it a little easier on Jack. Why? Because, in the end, Mommy was there and Mommy knows what he needs and knows him best.
That meant that it was okay if Jack was having a tired, rough day and needed to play his iPad a little while longer. That meant that lunch could take 50 minutes, if we needed that time. It meant that there were no little voices in my head telling me to work on this or push that. We could just BE.
I'll say that pushing sensory helped, but didn't eliminate meltdowns, this week. Again, the beast that seems to get us each time is the unknown. The unpredictability of unscheduled time. We have a couple of months before Summer Vacation begins to think of some more solutions to helping him understand changes.
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In the spirit of Summer and all of the challenges that creates, I want to present some solutions. So, next Saturday (April 27), I will be launching a new series that will run every Saturday through the Summer called "Sensational Saturdays". It is aimed at helping us all find sensory activities to do with our sensational kids as the Summer drags on. If you have an idea, please don't hesitate to make a suggestion! If you have a particular issue you would like help troubleshooting with regards to sensory issues, join us at the Reinventing Mommy Facebook page and post it over there! Let's all work together to make this a Sensational Summer!