We’ve had some “weather” over the past week or so. Ice and snow are not on the list of DC’s favorite things. Usually I have to walk him out to his transportation if there is even a patch of snow or ice on the sidewalk – and believe me, he does not have a problem taking me down with him (or instead of him) if he falls or even just slips a little bit. It is drama all of the way. Watching him walk down the sidewalk the other day (it was clear enough to “do it all by myself”),reminded me of the following post from right around this time two years ago.
So, from January 2014, we have…..
Literally Speaking
Raining Cats and Dogs
Twelve years ago, I wrote this:
“You can NEVER be too specific:
While learning “grocery shopping” in the classroom; his plastic cart full of plastic food… he was told that it was time to “put everything on the counter to pay” – Instead of taking the food out of the cart, he lifted the entire cart onto the counter!”
And
“When you tell your child to pull his sweat pants down over his socks and he proceeds to PULL HIS PANTS DOWN from the waist to his ankles – You know you were not specific enough with your request.”
And a few years later, this:
My son loves to write little “stories” (he thinks they are stories, but they are usually just one line).
I had been home from work for a few days with the “Flu”. It really didn’t occur to me that he had no idea what the “Flu” was and I wondered why he would laugh each time I mentioned it. He decided he would write one of his one-line “stories” for me to make me feel better ……
“Mom was so high”
It took me a few minutes…… but then I realized he thought I “Flew”
Then there was the time I said “Now listen closely” and he stuck his face one inch from mine…..
He laughed for about a week after I told him it was time to “hit the road”.
Or.. after the third round of kids whacked the piñata at his camp Halloween party, the Director said “Okay, DC, lets’ see you to tear it up” – he yanked it down and ripped it apart with his hands.
There are so many other examples, but these few really stick in my head.
Needless to say, like many people with autism, DC takes everything literally. Over the years, I have gotten much better at recognizing when something is said or read that taken literally will not make much sense to him. I always try to stop and explain what it means in that context, whether he asks or not.
He has made a great deal of progress in that area as well. He knows that the “flu” does not mean “flying”. He gets that “hit the road” means we have to get going. But he knows these things because they were explained to him, he is not able just figure it out himself – how could he?
Knowing this about my son, I suppose, when I told him to “walk slowly” on the sidewalk just in case there was ice (there wasn’t), I should have expected this:
Below are some “short stories” (statuses) that have been posted on my own and my public Facebook pages – too short to qualify as a blog post, although many have turned out to be the inspiration for an official blog post. You may have seen a few of these before, probably not all though. Some are recent, others are old “Facebook Memories” (love that!).
This is one of those posts that I put together and save to post later when we are away or when I am really busy and really don’t have the time to write. Like the “Blog Title Series” (Series? Yes, there’s more), they are very often off topic or “fluff”. I like fluff, sometimes fluff is fun.
DC taking a bow at Best Buddies Karaoke today. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” – Anyone shocked at that selection? Thanks for the picture, Steve!
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DC’s been dancing and singing since 7am “I like to be in ‘Mary – Ka’ “. He’s ready for West Side Story today!
…..
It’s a Cinderella Halloween Wedding! “Do you take this man to be your Wedding Wedding husband?”
…..
Good Morning and Happy Halloween! (Song from “Sabrina the Teenage Witch”)
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He came back with Bread and only Bread.
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The DR also loves wings (Giving up the “fish fingers and custard” for the evening)
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It is now time for us to stand uncomfortably around the staff room for the third cake of the week.
…..
Official review is in: DC is giving #peterpanlive a “two eyes closed” and that means I can be done with this!
(He did totally love it on DVD without the commercials)
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I have completely lost my voice. As much as I am sure that many people are happy about this – DC, on the other hand has been pretty freaked out.
He’s “very nervous about this”
…..
“Mom! I am so exciting for Friday is Christmas Eve!”
(I gave up explaining that Christmas Eve is Thursday, early on – I think he really means “Christmas” anyway)
Me: Yes you are!
“Work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday! No work ‘Firsday’ and Friday, Please!”
Me: No, no work Thursday and Friday, don’t worry.
“Please!”
Me: No, no work – don’t worry.
(30 seconds later)
“Mom! I am so exciting for Friday is Christmas Eve!”
Me: Okay.
“Work on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday! No work ‘Firsday’ and Friday, Please!”
Me: No, no work Thursday and Friday, don’t worry.
“Please!”
Me: no, I told you, no work.
(Repeat 700 times)
How was your day?
…..
Too many things needed to be charged tonight so I unplugged the lamp in the living room downstairs where no one is or will be until morning (one of three lamps) – This is what is keeping him awake tonight. “The Lamp- Unplugged”
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“Vickie, I got the most “skata-brand*” idea!” ~ Hayley Mills ~ The Trouble with Angels~ (and no, I still have not been informed of what that idea might be) …
…..
So DC had “Secret Breakfast” this morning, but he asked for it with BACON. I voted “no” on that one because “That would be ‘dis-dust-ing’ “
The passing of David Bowie hit me hard, it did. The passing of Glenn Frey hit me even harder. Is it because we are losing so many of the icons I grew up with and unconsciously my own mortality is now not only slapping me but slugging me in the face? Is it because I have been a fan of the Eagles since high school and the death of Glenn Frey really means the end of the Eagles forever? Maybe it is little bit of both. Whatever way you look at it, I am sad. Sad, as if I knew him personally.
Steve, one of my best friends in high school gave me my first Eagles album for my 16th birthday. I still remember finding “The Eagles Greatest Hits” album on my chair in biology class. Since then, I have always owned a version of that album (Vinyl, 8-Track, Cassette, CD and now downloaded on my iPhone) – of course I have added to that collection with many of their other albums since, but I will always remember receiving my first.
I had the opportunity to bring DC and his friend BB to see the Eagles in July. I had not been to a large venue concert in quite some time and we were in the “oxygen necessary” section, but it really did not matter. They were great. I am so glad that we opted to go!
Did/does DC know he was in the presence of legends? No. Did he/does he understand that I grew up with their music? Not really. Still I am happy that I had the chance to share that with him and BB.
Below is the post that I wrote after attending the concert but first, please give a listen to the two songs that coincidently I have been listening to obsessively over the past two weeks:
“Well, my time went so quickly, I went lickety-splitly Out to my ol’ fifty-five. As I pulled away slowly feelin’ so holy God knows I was feelin’ alive.”
“And the storybook comes to a close…… Gone are the ribbons and bows. Things to remember, places to go”
From July 2015 – Take it Easy
Take it easy DC’s best friend, BB is a big oldies fan and has been from the time he was very young – Elvis being THE ultimate favorite. I once asked his mother where this came from, he was definitely too young at the time to really know who Elvis was. She had no idea. His love for Elvis led him to the Beatles and oldies in general. He listens to the oldies station and the DJ’s, before the station changed format, would always take a phone call from BB.
DC is always open to do anything BB likes – they do have quite a lot in common to begin with, namely their love of musicals, but DC never really had much of an interest in concerts, other than the Wiggles (kill me now).
He has been to plenty though. Most were outdoors where we were free to move about.
6 years old -blondie-better than ezra-our lady peace-echo and the bunnymen-mighty mighty bosstones k’s choice-local h-moby
BB’s love of the oldies opens up another door for DC, away from the realm of Disney. If BB wants to go, DC is open to it and will almost always end up having a good time. I am always on the lookout for oldies concerts. DC and BB have been to quite a few Beatles cover band concerts, one with an Elvis impersonator as the opening act. I never have to try to “relate” these concerts to anything for DC – BB likes it so that is good enough for him. Of course Elvis was easily relatable to Lilo and Stitch, but that was just a bonus. We’ve been to a “Happy Together” concert and even Chicago. BB of course loved all of them and DC really did enjoy himself too, even though he really did not know any of the music.
When my brother offered me Eagles tickets back in March for my birthday, BB was my first thought. Keeping it a secret from him for 3 months was not an easy task for BB’s mother. Much like DC, we can not tell BB about these events too far ahead of time. One of the last times we were planning on taking BB with us somewhere – he went snooping found it written in his mom’s calendar. He always seems to find out ahead of time – a true detective indeed. This time I told her to write it in as “Bird Watching” (yes, I crack myself). That is exactly what she did…… We did actually manage to keep it a secret for possibly the first time ever!!!!! When we came to pick him up, he still had no idea where he was going. Impressive!
And how did the boys do……………?
BB was certainly surprised and excited when he found out where he was going. He was a little bit overwhelmed by the crowds. I don’t think he was expecting quite that many people – The ‘Beatles’, Chicago and Happy Together shows were all at much smaller venues. At intermission while standing in the massive crowd, he asked me if this was what ‘the’ concert was like in 1971………. (sigh)…………..
I explained to him that I while I did not go to many concerts in 1971 because I was ELEVEN….. this is what a concert was like and is still like now. He had just never been to a large concert venue before. Because the Eagles were talking a lot about 1971 while going though their history, he had it in his head that all of these people attending were there as a reenactment of a 1971 concert. I don’t think he realized the amount of people who attend concerts in large venues.
DC found it necessary to nap during the “mellow” first part of the show. He caught his second wind for the second half and I do believe they both had a very good time – crowds, naps, bird-watching and all.
After a fantastic time on Friday night, we ventured back on Saturday, knowing full well that it would be much more crowded and we would not be able to do much more than the photo ops we still had scheduled. Before heading to the photo-op room, we took one more swing by the Supernatural and Walking Dead rooms, just to see if there was anyone there that hadn’t been there on Friday night. Sure enough – there was “Merle”! We got in line. Again, DC does not know who he is and again, he would be acting as my stand in. There were two women in front of us that asked me to take their photo with Merle (Michael Rooker) and of course I obliged. Knowing as we do how DC can not resist a camera, especially one in his mother’s hands; he jumped in the photo with the two women. The more I tried to explain to him that he was next and he needed to move out of the ladies’ picture the more he held his ground and the bigger the smile became. I finally had to go over and take him by the arm away from the picture. Unfortunately it was not my camera or I would have certainly taken a picture of DC photo bombing Michael Rooker, but alas… I only have the one that we took when it was DC’s turn.
We were lucky that we were able to get one of our Saturday ops done on Friday night (Alex Kingston). That was helpful but we still had the scheduling conflict with Jim Beaver and Karen Gillian to contend with.
We had used the paper ticket the night before for Alex Kingston with no problem and there was nothing posted or announced to inform people about trading in their paper tickets. We went and exchanged our paper tickets and got through the Jim Beaver photo-op (a longer story; already covered in Part 1) and moved right on to the Karen Gillian line.
The “line” outside the corralled line went all the way through the arena and through all of the vendor booths. We had to keep checking that we were actually still in the line and not just stuck behind people at the vendor tables. I’m sure the vendors were just thrilled that the line was blocking their tables and customers from getting at their tables.
There were no volunteers around checking to see that people were in the right line or to be sure that people waiting in line were aware of this paper ticket exchange. No one was overseeing any of this at all.
When one is in a line for such a long time, one begins to bond with the people in close proximity. There was a boy in front of us that looked to be about 15 years old. He was with a friend about the same age. We discussed The Walking Dead for quite some time. We discussed our “Glen’ theories (this was during the “Is Glen dead” or “Is Glen under the dumpster” weeks of limbo). I told him that I thought that because they were carrying it on so long that we would find out finally that yes, Glen is alive and because we would all be so happy about that, they would kill him (or Maggie) off very shortly afterwards (that’s my theory and I am sticking to it). Eventually he asked me about how much I paid for the photo-op ticket. I told him I really didn’t remember because I bought it so long ago on-line. He said, “I have 50.00 on me, that should be enough, right?”. This would be the first time my heart broke in this line. I looked at him and said “Please don’t tell me you don’t have a ticket yet.”
He didn’t. He thought he would be able to buy one when he got to the front. He didn’t know that they had to be purchased before getting in the line. He had been in line with us at that point a good 45 minutes. I told him not to get out of line until we could find out for sure. We got the attention of a volunteer to see if he could buy a ticket at the front of the line. He couldn’t. I felt so bad for them! But again, there was no guidance at all. There were no signs, there was no one checking for tickets, there was no one to tell anyone exactly what they were supposed to do.
Somewhere around the hour mark, we made it to the corral and the actual line. This is where the confusion really began. We just stopped moving. The photo-op was way over it’s 45 minute scheduled time. People were now really confused because no one was explaining why we stopped – were we now in line for the next person? Is Karen Gillian gone? While we were all standing there wondering why we stopped moving, we noticed that there was a good number of people sitting up in the bleachers and they were now being directed down to the line. Those 50 or more people were actually ahead of us but there were so many people at the entrance to the corral, it was considered a fire hazard so they had to move them out.
Seriously, what did they expect when they sold probably triple (maybe more) the photo ops that can be taken in a 45 minute session? There were too many people in line. There were people getting in line for whoever was supposed to have that room after Karen Gillian- no one is telling any one what to do. This had to cause scheduling conflicts not only for the attendees but for the celebrities that may have had to be at a panel, or at their tables, or for the people coming to the op rooms next.
We stood in this same spot for another 30 minutes. People were beginning to worry that she would leave before everyone in line made it inside. In front of us was a woman and her two daughters – the second group of people that we bonded with in this line. We talked for a long while and when DC started yelling “I’m out of here!” over and over again, the girls went out of their way to talk him down. We saw pictures of them in their Halloween costumes – all Dr. Who themed. DC enjoyed that. They were wonderful and I believe they were almost solely responsible for keeping him in line.
We finally started to move and made it into the corral. The corral moved quickly and it was the mother and the two little girls’ turn to go in. The mother showed the volunteer her electronic tickets on her phone which earlier in the day she was told would be fine. But in true RI Comic-Con form was told that THEY WERE NOT GOOD. THEY’D HAVE TO GO AND EXCHANGE THEIR TICKETS TOO!!!! An hour and a half in line and no one saw fit to announce this or check with the people in line about this change with the paper and apparently now the electronic tickets?
At this point, the little girl who was so excited to show me her Amy Pond – complete with suitcase and boots (she already had the red hair) – Halloween picture, burst into tears and they left the line. I just stood there in shock! We were next and of course, me being me, could not keep my mouth shut. I screamed at the volunteer collecting tickets. “That girl just stood in this line for an hour and a half and you just made her cry! You can’t just change the ticket procedure and not tell people!” Then…. I noticed him holding a bunch of tickets cards (like we had to exchange our paper tickets for) AND he also had a handful of paper tickets!!!
“And WHY are you holding paper tickets? We were told they were not good and had to exchange them! Why are you taking paper tickets? Why wouldn’t you take the electronic tickets if you are taking the paper tickets that you aren’t supposed to be taking?!”
His reply……
Say it with me….. “I don’t know, I’m only a volunteer.”
There may or may not have been a few choice ‘words’ thrown in his general direction.
We went inside. DC was DONE with this, but even though she was an hour and a half, I believe, over her scheduled time, Karen really did make an effort to chat quickly with him. He really was just too distracted and over it by this time and once again they made him take his glasses off, so that was fun. I was distracted too about little Amy Pond crying and did not intervene as much as I would normally have to redirect him to get him back on track.
We took the picture and left the room but we had to wait for the photo to come out. While Doug waited for the picture, I went on a hunt to find this woman and if she wasn’t going to yell at people to get them back in that line in front of everyone, I was going to yell at people for her. I could not get over the sight of that poor kid bursting into tears.
I could not find them anywhere so DC and I went back to where we had left Doug waiting for the picture. It finally came out and DC seemed happy to see it even though he was not thrilled when he was having it taken. We decided that we had been there quite long enough for that day.
We did have one more op scheduled with Scott Wilson but we already had a photo of him that we took at his table the night before so I had Doug just give it away. I know this was a colossal waste of money but I just couldn’t put DC though that again. He was done and so was I.
We did run into the woman and her girls on the way out and I was happy to hear that they were able to get back in line – IN the FRONT of the line and have their picture taken. I was glad to see her daughter smiling again.
DC ran into a few more princesses on the way out which put him in a much better mood.
And me?
I really still just wanted to find people to yell at.
*****
I do understand that waiting and lines are the norm. We have been to NY Comic-Con which is much larger and of course we waited – of course it was crowded and of course there were lines, but it was just so much more organized. There was no comparison.
****
Next (and last) – on a happier note, his favorite person of the Con.
(I have a lot to say about our visit to the Rhode Island Comic-Con. Some good; some not so much. Everyone we met was very nice. Now I understand that they are supposed to be, but we all know that it isn’t always the case. There were a few people who were just extraordinarily wonderful to DC, so I want to be sure I mention all of them. Because I have so much to say about the entire event; Autism-related and not, I have decided to split the story up into a few parts, by category rather than in order by the day)
I will say again that I am so glad we went on Friday night just to get the lay of the land for Saturday. It was not crowded at all. We saw and did more that I ever imagined we would get to do – of course this also means that I spent so much more money than I had intended. But how could one pass up all of these people just standing around waiting for the crowds that didn’t come until Saturday?
After leaving the “Supernatural (or the “Don’t You Cry No More”)room, thinking we would not be so lucky as to happen upon another room with people just standing around waiting – we happened upon Scott Wilson.
We had a photo op scheduled with him on Saturday, but I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity. Now, DC has no idea who he is but he was going to be my stand-in for the scheduled photo op as I am just too fat to have my picture taken, so he was delegated as my stand-in here as well.
DC really took a shine to him even though he didn’t know who he was. He was a nice man with grey hair and a beard and that was good enough for him. I took his picture with DC and then he insisted that I get in a shot (a photo that will never see the light of day). Also in the Walking Dead room was Seth Gilliam – DC does not know him either, but he was happy to have his picture taken (still standing in for Mom) – he is always happy to have his picture taken.
Technically we were there to figure out where everything was in anticipation of the crowds on Saturday and we could already see that there was no information readily available. It was very important to DC that we find one particular person before the weekend was done. We asked THE only Volunteer that would prove to be helpful during this entire weekend. He gave us directions to another area that we never would have found on our own (more about his favorite person in another installment). While walking around this area we came upon Alex Kingston’s table. This was the one and only table where we found a line that entire night. We did have a photo op scheduled for the following day, but we got in line anyway. This was one of the very few times that our VIP tickets came in handy and they whisked us to the front. At this point DC was so excited he began squealing and stimming. She and most of the people in line seemed to be getting a kick out of just how excited he was. Fortunately there was a table between her and him because if there hadn’t been, he would have headed straight for all of that hair. She signed his photo with “Hello, Sweetie”, which just sent him further over-the-top with his squealing. We left the table with DC yelling and waving “Good-bye” to her and then of course a big “Good-bye everybody” complete with a bow, to the rest of the people in line.
We walked around a little bit more. DC stopped quite a few random people in costume and insisted on having his picture taken with them. Most of the people he stopped were dressed as princesses and they all obliged.
I decided that we should try to find the photo op area so we would not spend Saturday searching. We did eventually find it. They were holding the photo ops in the arena – it was large enough but it was also full of vendors. We looked around at some of the vendor tables and noticed that the schedule on the wall (the only information available about anything was the current photo op schedule and the panel schedules) was showing that Alex Kingston was in one of the photo op rooms right then. We had a ticket for the following day, but due to the many conflicts on Saturday, I thought it would make my life so much easier to be able to get at least one out of the way on Friday. It never hurts to ask, right? There was NO ONE in line, no one – really – that was just how dead it was there on Friday night. While DC was checking out an Anna (Frozen) doll at one of the vendor booths, Doug went over to ask. He came back with a “yes”.
As we walked over to the “booth”, I reminded DC not to touch her hair.
DC: “No touch the hair”
Me: What is the other rule?
DC: “Don’t pick up the people”
They took the paper ticket with no problem.
When he got inside the curtained area, he immediately began squealing.
Alex: Well, Hello Again!” (who would not remember this boy squealing at your table earlier that evening?)
DC: “Hello There!” (another bow)
Since there was no one else in line, there was time for a little bit of small talk between them. She also commented on his shirt, which made him extremely happy!
He was able to control himself enough to give her a hug without breaking her back, grabbing her hair or (Phew) picking her up!
Needless to say, he was quite the happy guy when we left the venue on Friday night! He had such a great night all around there on Friday. It could not have been more perfect for him.
No crowds, no lines and River Song twice in one night. What could be better?
*****
There was one person that could and did make his night even more awesome….. More about that in another installment….
This cup went unnoticed for many years until one day when DC decided that all this cup needed was a face. This cup with its new face was to be named “Chip”. Chip, of course being the chipped cup and son to the tea-pot, Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast. Every day Chip’s face washed off in the sink and every day DC drew it back on.
He used this cup every single day.
Last year around Christmas time I thought how great would it be if I could find him a real Chip Cup. My first stop, as always was Amazon and there is was. It was quite expensive for a cup, but in comparison to DC’s usual requests for items that don’t exist or items that I have to find on EBay (usually a collectables), costing a fortune – was a deal.
I read the description and the reviews to be sure that this was something that was intended to be used as a cup and not just decorative and purchased it.
He was so excited to open the gift and find this cup on Christmas morning. He loved it and like the old Easter/Chip cup, used it every day.
One day in August not too long after DC had his second seizure, I was washing his Chip cup and happened to notice it said “Made in China” on the bottom.
Me, being me panicked.
Me, being me completely went over the top with my panic.
I bought this from Amazon. What if the person selling this cup had it in stock or sitting around for years? What if the cup contained lead paint – because, of course everything that goes wrong HAS to be completely my fault. Yes, I know that this is highly unlikely and yes I know that they would not allow a seller to sell this item with lead paint, but..
me, being me threw his beloved Chip cup away right there and then.
This did not go over very well…… at all.
It took a few months, but I thought he had finally gotten over the loss of his Chip cup. Then December came and it was time to make his Christmas list and there it was……
He had not forgotten….
Not really thinking I would find another until possibly the next time we were actually in Disney World, I went to the Disney Store site and there it was. Once again, I read the description and the reviews to be sure that it was not for decoration only and purchased it – directly from Disney; no third sellers involved. I felt much more at ease about that.
He was ecstatic and has not let it out of his sight since.
And the poor lonely Easter cup has been relegated to the back of “Cup-board” (DC-speak) never to be drawn on again….
****
If the cup was not of such a decorative nature, I would not thought anything about the “made in China” label. Most of our other cups were made in China.
These Three…. they are truly amazing. As their parents, my friends and I know this. We know the progress they have all made. Sometimes though in dealing with the day-to-day, we do not always remember the journey until someone who has not seen them in quite a while points it out.
We lived it all but we tend to concentrate on the here and now and the future – how we got here is not always uppermost in our minds. We deal with today.
Last week we ran into our kids’ Special Olympics swimming coach at a Best Buddies Christmas Party. She was there with another friend of ours. She has recently moved out-of-state so she was filling us in on what she has been up to since her move. She was also their volleyball and golf coach for many years as well so she has been a part of our kids’ lives for quite a long time – since they were very young.
As she was watching our kids at the party, she commented on just how much progress they had made over the years. DC’s friends stories are not mine to tell, but her comments about DC made me sit back and really think about just how far he (and his friends) have come. As she watched him socialize in this crowded room she said “Who would have ever thought that he would be able to sit in this room and tolerate the crowd and the noise?” She was right; attending this activity would not have been a pretty sight back then. Never mind the noise, he would have never been so social with anyone of his own age or anyone but me for that matter. Then there were the times when I really should have just thrown in the towel and not taken him to practice at all. Now-a-days we can pretty much go anywhere with out too much of an issue.
She knew us and she knew our kids inside out. She always went out of her way to make the process as easy as possible for us and most importantly, for our kids. Special Olympics lost a fantastic coach, when they lost her due to her work and school commitments.
These Three have been through a lot both separately and together. We have all hit some potholes along the way; some deeper than others, but for the most part we have traveled this road together. It is nice to sit back and remember this very long journey that they have taken with each other. They have grown into amazing young adults and yes, we know this, but it is always nice to have someone point it out and bring it all back for you.
Although the stories of his friends are not mine to tell, I will say that I am as proud of them as I am of him. As we live with new and different struggles and challenges, we should take the time to remember just where we all started and all that These Three have accomplished over the years.
There has been so very much.
Sometimes is just takes someone else to help us remember.
And we should remember and we should be proud of all of it.
DC is most definitely what I would call the ultimate ornament collector. In 2013, I decided that I would start hiding them around the house to make receiving new ornaments more interesting and to ease the “Elf Envy” I was feeling by not participating in the whole Elf on the Shelf thing.
He did so well with the random hunting of ornaments by the end of that season that last year I decided to make it even more interesting by leaving clues instead of just hiding the ornaments for him to happen upon. It took a little while for him to get it, but he did and I think he had some fun with the hunt.
Below is a post from 2014 – our first attempt at hunting ornaments with clues. We have already begun our hunt this season and at this point, really all I have to say is “Here’s a clue” and he knows there is an ornament to be found somewhere.
Ornament Hunt 2014 (and one Elf on the Shelf)
As I wrote in an earlier post (There’s no elf on our shelf), I do not do the whole elf on a shelf thing with DC, but last year we did start a new tradition of hiding and hunting for the numerous ornaments he receives each year before Christmas.
Last year being the trial run, I discovered he was just not noticing them as I assumed he would, so I began writing notes each time I hid an ornament. By Christmas he was getting the hang of it. This year I decided I would not only leave a note, but also a clue. Coming up with clues that he would understand was not easy and I have to admit my clues need work – below is our 2014 Ornament Hunt –
Complete with some pretty terrible clues – so don’t judge.
#1 Elsa hidden on the shelf of his DVD cabinet
There is a new ornament for you to find.. I hid it very well. If you should find it after you watch your movies, please give me a yell”
(he thinks I’m funny, anyway)
~That was the last attempt in rhyming for the season.
#2 Mary Poppins in the silverware drawer.
There is a new ornament to be found: Just a SPOONFUL of Sugar helps the Medicine go down. What do you use to help the medicine go down?”
#3 Baloo and Mogli on the towel hook
He found Baloo and Mogli before I had the chance to leave a clue….
#4 Tinkerbell in the drawer
Oh No! Tink is stuck in the bedroom drawer!”
Yes, I thought I was just giving this one away. I thought so anyway…. As it turns out, because I didn’t mention an ornament in the note – he read it, put the paper down and went about his business. When I finished laughing, I explained that he had to look for his new Tinkerbell ornament.
#5 Sully hanging on the lamp
Sully must be very “BRIGHT” to attend Monsters University. Where is it Bright in the living room?”
It was right here that it finally clicked. He read it (no mention of an ornament) thought about it and without me having to help, looked around at the Christmas tree lights, moved on to the lamps and found it.
—–Progress, Progress, Progress——
#6 Ruby Slippers on his bedroom shelf
Cordelia clicked her heels three times in Pylea “There’s no place like home” she said.
He understood the question and gave me an answer – he was really beginning to get this. The only prompting I had to give was “Do we have Angel and Lorne somewhere in our house?”
(Unfortunately, our Lorne lost his head after his last fall from the shelf, but in keeping with the theme of the hunt; he did actually lose his head temporarily while the gang was in Pylea. He just had much better luck getting it back in Pylea than he did in DC’s room)
#7 An Elf of a shelf
Your ornament is
L O S T
so take a look around to find Buddy the Elf sitting on a shelf.
Where is the L O S T shelf in the living room?”
First, let me say – There is an elf on the shelf.
Secondly, I thought this clue might be a stretch for him. That DVD set has been on this same shelf since the show went off the air. This in no way means that DC notices it at all, but I gave it a shot.
Believe it or not, he went right to it. I am always amazed by the things he notices when I think he is paying no attention at all.
#8 Brady Bunch on the wall
Till the one day when the lady met this fellow And they knew it was much more than a hunch, That this group must somehow form a family. That’s the way we all became the Brady ‘Bump’.
Where does Doug do the ‘Brady BUMP’?”
This one needs a little it of an explanation….. Doug sings this song, he’s done it for years. He sings the Brady Bunch theme but replaces Brady Bunch with Brady Bump and crashes into the wall.
– insert my eyes rolling –
DC thinks it is the funniest thing in the world and asks him ‘crash and repeat’ – over and over again.
“One more time!”
– insert eyes rolling and head shaking –
This happens to be the spot where the singing and the wall where the crashing takes place more often than not.
-insert, as DC would say, “Mom, put hand to face” (hand on forehead, as in OMG), shaking head, heavy sigh and eye roll-
Again he went right to the spot. Once it all clicked, it clicked!
#9 TARDIS on the clock
Dr. Who is a T I M E Lord. – He and the TARDIS traveled through T I M E hoping for a spot on your tree.
Where can we find the T I M E?”
I am 100% positive he would have gotten this with the clue I left. I hid this ornament while he was out with Mrs. H. at his theater volunteer Christmas Party and forgotten about it by the time they arrived home, when I would have guided him to the clue before he had the chance to run around putting his things away.
He spotted it and went over to take it down. I said “Oh, you didn’t get to read the clue”, so of course, he put it back. I told him he didn’t have to put it back, but all things in order; he went and read the clue out loud, then went back to claim his ornament.
#10 Princess Merida in the TARDIS
Princess Merida must be very BRAVE to take a ride with DR. WHO, ROSE and K-9 in the TARDIS.
Where is ROSE and the TARDIS?”
I realized that I did not think this one through completely – He just received a TARDIS ornament a few days before. I was sure he would head straight to the ornament now hanging on the tree. I was correct in my assumption, he went to the tree. After a little bit of prompting “But where else do we have the TARDIS? Where is Rose and K-9?” , he did find it.
I still felt he should still have a few to just happen upon as he did or as I tried to have him do last year, hidden in places that I knew he would go eventually.
Mickey and Minnie in the snack bin
The Chipmunks Record Player on his CD player
Tiana in the vegetable bin
Sleeping Beauty on the headboard
Trial run of 2013, over. I am declaring the 2014 Ornament Hunt a success!
Just to update you on my friends’ progress this year. As I said, if I am not going to do it, they very well better be creative about their elf!
~ Yes, it is hard to be my friend……..
Year 2 of “The harassment of *Al” – my constant badgering to hide elf in a Rice Krispies box. (I’d seen photos, I e-mailed, texted and showed him photos and nothing). Finally he decided he would use this as one of his Elf setups. Geez!
He texted his wife while she was out shopping and asked her to buy Rice Krispies. She replied that she had Crispy Rice. He told her he wanted the real Rice Krispies. She asked why and he said he wanted to make Rice Krispie(s) treats. (Why he wouldn’t tell her what he really wanted them for, I do not know).
She bought Crispie Rice.
I told him that I had just seen a photo of someone using a Crispie Rice box, I had actually e-mailed it to him a few days before, but he said it would not be the same.
The following morning when I was getting DC’s breakfast ready it occurred to me that I had a box of the ‘real’ Rice Krispies, so I took the cereal out and brought him the empty box.
And there you have it!
*Geri has also done a few very creative things with Derek the Elf, but still being in the training portion of the program, she has not gotten the hang of remembering to take a photo of everything Derek gets himself into.
December, is the time for reruns. I love reruns, especially holiday reruns. The following is a post from December 2014 about the important lesson DC and BB learned while riding the Santa Train.
******
Lessons learned on the “Santa Train”
(Code word of the day: “Supplement”)
The other day, I read a post from one of my favorite bloggers, Autism-Mom. The post, FEELING THE MAGIC was about her son questioning the existence of Santa Claus. Give it a read if you have a minute, it is wonderful.
As parents, we all come to this crossroad sooner or later. It is a sad milestone. It begins to be difficult for them to understand and believe in something that they can not see. Sure we see Santa and his helpers quite often during the months before Christmas, but never during his Christmas Eve deliveries. This causes our children to question his existence. Why can’t they see him? Why must they be asleep? As I explained to DC, Santa has a job to do. If he took the time to stop and visit with the children in every house he delivered gifts to, even with his magic, he would never be able to finish in time to get back to the North Pole to celebrate Christmas with Mrs. Claus and the elves.
It took DC many years to understand Santa. He knew he would receive gifts, but the whole idea of Santa was not something that could be understood easily. His not understanding, did not stop Santa from leaving him gifts.
When it finally clicked and he did finally get it, he was all in! Now that he does understand, he would never and will never question his existence.
The one problem was, DC ‘s Christmas requests have always been small (in size) gifts. Santa could very well bring him 20 DVD’s, but the pile of gifts (visually) would be very small. DC doesn’t understand cost/size vs. number of gifts. He expects a very big pile of gifts. So, over the years I would always “supplement” the Santa pile with gifts of my own.
Being a single mother for more than 20 years now, I am the sole “supplement-or” (yes, I know that is not a word) of DC’s gifts. Which means I not only “add” to what Santa brings just to make the pile look more exciting for DC, but I also, of course, have to buy additional gifts from ‘Mom’. This gets to be a little bit overwhelming for me, not only in cost, but in trying to come up with other gifts ideas to make that “pile” he needs to see.
Now that DC is an adult, and the items he asks for are smaller still, it is becoming harder and harder to “supplement” Santa’s gifts, to make that Christmas gift pile”, I did finally have to confess to him that some parents, with adult children, have to help Santa out a little bit. Santa has so many little children to deliver packages to on Christmas Eve, that it is hard for him to get to everyone. So now that the is an adult, Santa only delivers his stocking and the rest of the gifts in his pile are from Mom. Santa always did a pretty good job with his stocking, by the way. He was fine with this. As long as Santa is coming, even just to bring a stocking, all is well.
Coincidentally, the morning I read the post from Autism-Mom, was the day that DC, his best friend, BB, BB’s Dad, Doug and I were going to take a ride on the Santa train.
Earlier this week, BB had just been told by one of his other friends that he was too old and should not still believe in Santa. He was upset by this, but BB knew better. He knew he was correct in believing.
Both DC and BB were very excited about riding the train. They always have the best time when they are together anyway.
Santa boarded the train a few minutes into our trip. He received more hugs that he expected, I imagine.
BB mentioned to Santa, what his friend had said to him that week. Santa took a little bit of time to talk about it with BB and DC.
(This video below is very poor quality – it was dark on the Santa train, but you can hear some the conversation and Santa’s advice to BB)
“Those who don’t believe, well they are the one’s that are missing out” ~ Santa Claus
So there you have it, straight from Santa’s mouth. BB felt much better. He knew it before but now he really knows that he was right all along…
and Contact Numbers that rarely bring one to an actual person…. “Please press One”
or “Please complete this form. A form that you or no one you know will ever be able to understand – we do not even understand the form and can not help you in any way, but we do expect you to be able to complete it by…..”
Not a fan of the paperwork. (click here for a fun romp through our state’s system)
Not a fan of the mountains of unnecessary mail that comes my way.
This (4 page) letter is to inform you that you have been assigned a new contact – Effective immediately, your new contact is: Customer Service at 555-5555.
Is it really necessary to send a 4 page notice at a cost of close to $2.00 in postage to both DC and myself to inform us that our new contact is “Customer Service”? Especially since the last 4 times we were notified of a new case manager their name just happened to be “Customer Service” as well.
I have developed a real aversion to opening my mail – ask anyone that has ever seen my kitchen table. Fortunately it is only DC and I that have to use the kitchen table , so there is still room enough for us, for now.
I have been a single mother for about 22 years so all of this paperwork has always fallen to me. In my opinion, the paperwork got worse and more confusing after DC turned 18. At this point, I am used to it and it is more annoying than anything else. Why do we have to do the whole probate thing every three years? Is it to make certain that DC still has autism? Two redeterminations every year, a social security report once a year and an audit anytime they feel like it. Reporting his wages every month – which really is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things – but sitting though that automated system can drive one to want to ‘slam head on table’. There is an app for this now and when it is working, is much easier. When it is not working we have to resort to the ‘slam head on table’ automated system. After using the app or the ‘SHOT’ system, I receive 2 letters, one for me and another for DC, thanking me for reporting his wages and an estimate of his upcoming benefits. Later in the month I receive two more with the actual amount of his benefits. Four letters every month at more than 1.00 in postage each. It seems like such a waste of money and resources to me, but what do I know?
DC’s father’s only contribution since DC turned 18 is health insurance. He retired from the police force before the pending contract took effect when they would have had to begin to contribute for dependent coverage, so as it stands DC is covered at no charge.
A few weeks ago, I received a letter from the insurance company. It was a good sized envelope – more than one page, I was sure – so I let it sit for about a week or so. I finally decided that I really should open it since I don’t normally get mail from the insurance company. The insurance is not in my name so the mail usually goes directly to his Dad. His insurance is one of the few things that we really have not had any issues with over the years.
What would normally happen here is:
I would read the whole thing –
Give it to his father the next time he came to pick up DC –
Explain what is was all about –
Explain in detail what he had to do to take care of it.
But….. I had just finished DC’s redetermination (a good 10 pages) and completed another redetermination over the phone at 7:00 am on a Saturday morning (yes, they called at 7am on a Saturday because they were “working overtime” which, I assume must mean that if they are up and working everyone else should be), so after reading one paragraph, I decided I was just not going to read it at all. I would just give it to his Dad.
From the paragraph I did read I gathered that this was about DC’s ER visit after his first seizure in June. I also surmised that they were not willing to pay the amount that the ER doctor had charged for the visit.
I gave him the letter the next time he arrived to pick up DC. He looked confused – just staring at the pages. I did tell him that I was boycotting paperwork that was not mine but did explain to him what I thought it was all about…. reasonable and customary etc.
So off he went straight on into his first foray through the world of paperwork, forms and 1-800 numbers.
The following week he came back so beside himself at the amount of time he had spent calling numbers that provided no information at all. He was convinced that they were just sending him ’round in circles.
I had to laugh – not at him,
…maybe just a little…
but at how perplexed he was over all of this. Until then he did not realize just how much nonsense I and others have to go through just to have a question answered – just to talk to a person. And this was just the insurance, not any of the agencies that we all have to deal with.
He said that he did actually get to speak to one person who gave him yet another number to call that turned out to be some sort of factory in Minnesota.
He was done at this point (and yes, I was still laughing, not at him – well maybe a little – but at his reaction to the whole thing – it was all new to him).
He left me with a stamped self addressed envelope (because he was leaving for Florida for the winter the following day) to send him any bill that I might receive so he can just pay it. He was so beside himself that he was willing to just give up and pay whatever they wanted in order to never have to call them again.
Taking it a Step at a Time 