Sunday, October 30, 2016
When Anxiety Rears its Head
So many times I begin to take for granted our normal, smooth, everyday life. And then there are times that jump out and sucker punch you in the gut. That's what Saturday felt like.
This guy and I had a day to hang out together at Six Flags. The littles were home with a sitter (because Fright Fest is a bit much for them), Olivia had a friend with who would ride the big rides and go to the haunted houses with her, and Braeden and I got to just spend time. This was the last day we were going to be using our season passes, and since Braeden didn't want to ride anything except the carousel, we were people watching, going to the hypnotist, and seeing a musical show. We used our dining plan for food and it was a great day.
But the park gets scary after 6, people dressed in costumes show no mercy no matter your age and he was scared when we came a few weeks ago. So we decided to leave the park before 6. Originally we were going to just sit in the car and watch a movie, but he wanted to spend the allowance he had just gotten. So I let him talk me into going down the road to the huge outlet mall. Mistake.
I'm not sure what triggered him: the size, the people, the excitement of the stores there, or a combination of many, but within five minutes his demeanor and our day went from smiling and happy to growling and angry. The next two and a half hours were basically hell. It caught me so off guard. I kept trying different strategies to help him. He did not want to leave. But finally I did have to walk out ... And pray he followed. It took a while but he finally did.
We waited a while in the car before the girls were done. Putting a movie in began to help him come back down but even with them in the car on the way home it took about 30 minutes for him to somewhat even out.
Not long ago we went to see Braeden's doctor. He told us that if Braeden didn't already have the anxiety diagnosis he would probably diagnose him with ptsd instead as it paints a clearer picture.
I'd have to agree.
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Being the Good
Liam learned a wonderful lesson today. There was even more to our story though that he had no idea of.
Today he and I went grocery shopping while the rest stayed home. We went to our local aldi*s because money is tight and my budget stretches far there. As we were checking out, I noticed a gentleman shopping in his electric wheelchair. He had a worn plastic bag on one arm of the chair and a well used backpack between his feet. He was utilizing his right arm to reach the needed groceries, maneuver his chair, and precariously balance his items in his lap, while his left arm stayed by his side unable to be used. Many shopped around him, either oblivious to or unwilling to acknowledge his need.
As we finished checking out, I asked Liam (already knowing his answer) if he'd like to go help the gentleman while I finished checking out and bagging our items. He was shy but happy to help. He asked and the man was glad for the assistance. Liam took one of our quarters to get a cart and unload the items from the man's lap into the cart. He then aided him in finding his last few things. After checking out we both helped him load up. I knew there was no car in the lot for him. He would be driving his chair back home, and there are no close residences to the store. I could only imagine how long it would take. In the spitting rain developing outside.
His items were not going to fit. In my cart we had one reusable bag left that we hadn't needed to use. Our largest one, Mickey front and center, which usually gets filled first and today just hadn't even been used. Only God.
We filled his plastic bag and our reusable bag. The gentleman protested saying the bag was ours but Liam spoke up and assured him we had plenty. I love that he'll be able to use it more than just today. I love that Liam had such a great experience helping others.
We need more good in the world.
We need to start truly 'seeing' one another.
It starts with us. One person at a time.
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Olivia - 14
Braeden - 11
Liam - 9
Macy - 5
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