The Couch; Another Round

 

A couple of weeks ago on the 4th, my neighbors decided to blow off “cannons” right under our window………It went on for hours.

Now, DC really does not mind fireworks when he is expecting them. It’s the fireworks that begin two weeks before and continue on for a month after the 4th that bother him. Being a guy who is terrified of storms, hearing these random fireworks does not go over all that well.  Even on the 4th when he should be expecting them, he certainly is not agreeable to the noise when it sounds like a cannon is going off directly under our window.

Due to the my neighbors and a couple of pretty good storms over the last few weeks, we have been sleeping on the couch.

When DC was young, he would come into my room when there was a storm and he was afraid. This did not mean he would calm down but once he tired of repeating the same few phrases over and over again, he would finally fall asleep.

He is  27  now (chronologically) and it is no longer appropriate for him to come and sleep in my room. He does not understand this because in his mind, the storms are just as scary as they were when he was young and quite honestly, developmentally,  he is just as young as he was then. There is no good way to explain this to him.

So……  now during storms or when he hears a loud noise that might be a storm or fireworks or a truck driving by or a plane flying over head…… we sleep on the couch.

I have a sectional.

He sleeps on the chaise lounge (the bottom of the L)  and I sleep on the straight part.

I am old. Everything hurts after sleeping on the couch for more than a few days.

It is not always easy to get him back to his room and into his bed, especially at this time of year when the storms just seem to  keep on coming. It doesn’t even need to be a storm – clouds, dark skies, rain or anything that puts the notion of a storm in his head is enough to send us “to the couches”.

Our last round of couch-sleeping lasted more than 2 years. I am hoping this round does not last anywhere near that long.

It’s only been two weeks but I am tired.

It’s only been two weeks but I am afraid that there are plenty more storms ahead. ‘Tis the season.

It’s only been two weeks but I can already tell that it is going to be a very long summer.

It’s only been two weeks but……….. I miss my bed.

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Ahhh, but there is always a little bit of a bright side  – FB Status – July 17, 2018)

 

Between looking out the door and repeating “Storm is over soon, Storm go away, I am brave, Storm is over soon……” DC kept coming into the room with his hands in prayer position, bowing and saying “Yay! We Must Stay”. I just assumed it was more drama about the storm but I’d never heard him say this before so I asked him (thinking it must be a movie line) where this was from…..
DC: Yoga Class
(I’ll give you a minute….. 😂😂😂😂😂)

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This has been a Finish the Sentence Friday  5-minute stream-of-consciousness post about “My Bed” hosted by Kristi Campbell of  Finding Ninee and Kenya G. Johnson of Sporadically Yours 

 

 

I tell ya it’s frightening… (Happy 4th)

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A repeat from last year. DC’s opinion about thunder, lightening or fireworks has not changed in the slightest. It’s unfortunate that firework season falls right around the same time as thunder storm season. But once I convince him that it is not thunder I will be chasing him out the door and hopefully this year will remember not to put the pajamas on too early. Happy 4th!

Thunder and Lightning – Happy 4th!

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I know that fireworks are at times a big issue for children and adults with autism. This time of year is difficult for DC. It is not only Thunder and Lightening Season, but as we know, the firecrackers seem to begin exploding around the middle of June in anticipation of the 4th.  I generally spend these two or three weeks explaining to DC over and over again that the noise he is hearing is not a storm, it is just someone shooting off fireworks. He is okay with that. For a child (man) that just cannot stand a storm, he was always fine with fireworks. He actually really LOVES fireworks, he always has.

To look at him when the first few go off, one would think he is terrified. He nearly jumps out of his skin and covers his ears, even when he knows they’re coming, but then he laughs and after the first few the ear covering is ends and he is stimming away.

We are fortunate that we never really have to go anywhere to see a really great 4th of July fireworks display. Someone in town (and I still really haven’t determined who) puts on a really fabulous display every year. At one time there were two big displays, one earlier in the evening that we could see perfectly from the front of the house and the other larger display that we could see perfectly from the back of our house.

I never really know what night they will go off, until they start. Generally I forget all about them until they start. I guarantee you that whether it be tonight or tomorrow night, as soon as DC realizes that what he is hearing is not thunder we will be standing outside in our pajamas.

Maybe this year I will try to think ahead and remember not to get changed so early……

 

 

Thunder and Lightning – Happy 4th!

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2004 sparklers

I know that fireworks are at times a big issue for children and adults with autism. This time of year is difficult for DC. It is not only Thunder and Lightening Season, but as we know, the firecrackers seem to begin exploding around the middle of June in anticipation of the 4th.  I generally spend these two or three weeks explaining to DC over and over again that the noise he is hearing is not a storm, it is just someone shooting off fireworks. He is okay with that. For a child (man) that just cannot stand a storm, he was always fine with fireworks. He actually really LOVES fireworks, he always has.

To look at him when the first few go off, one would think he is terrified. He nearly jumps out of his skin and covers his ears, even when he knows they’re coming, but then he laughs and after the first few the ear covering is ends and he is stimming away.

We are fortunate that we never really have to go anywhere to see a really great 4th of July fireworks display. Someone in town (and I still really haven’t determined who) puts on a really fabulous display every year. At one time there were two big displays, one earlier in the evening that we could see perfectly from the front of the house and the other larger display that we could see perfectly from the back of our house.

I never really know what night they will go off, until they start. Generally I forget all about them until they start. I guarantee you that whether it be tonight or tomorrow night, as soon as DC realizes that what he is hearing is not thunder we will be standing outside in our pajamas.

Maybe this year I will try to think ahead and remember not to get changed so early…….