Yesterday was long. I got up early and went to breakfast with my co-workers. I had the day off, and so did Nathan, so I brought him with to go have a little Christmas cheer with my department. Nathan did pretty well! He was starting to get pretty hyper by the end of it, but that was really awfully good. With no meds, and all the stimulation that goes with a breakfast in a restaurant, I couldn't have expected things to go so well.
After breakfast, I dragged the poor little guy all over town, shopping. He wandered off every time I blinked, but he was in a really good mood through it all. Shopping took me about four times longer than it should have, with all of the retreats to go find him again, but at least he was pretty patient with it all.
Evening was another story. I can't blame him. He had been dragged out of bed before sunup, and then dragged though Power Christmas Shopping, before finally ending up with the family gathering to wish an uncle Happy Birthday. It was too much. He finally started to melt down. It was not a pretty sight.
We had planned on going to the Support Group's Christmas party, but there was no way I could bring him after that tantrum. The excitement of a party on top of everything would have been an invitation for an even bigger disaster. I know the group would have at least been understanding, but I just couldn't put Nathan through that. He needed a break.
This morning I was supposed to go back out shopping, but there was no way. Nathan is so excited, he is crackling with energy. I need to keep him calm for a while. (How do you do that, a couple days before Christmas??) Tomorrow the family starts to arrive. Yikes. I'll have to be sure to bring ear plugs, and see if I can give him some kind of break here and there.
There were a few surprises lately, though. One was the Christmas Party at his school. Wow, that was an eye opener. First I find out that he's been playing football during recess with some kids. How cool is that??? He is usually such a loner, that he would stand there off by himself. Now at least he is joining in (and scored a touchdown, to boot!) Excellent! Then I go to his party, and I watch him from the back of the room. He's off playing and socializing with some of the kids in his class! I've never seen that before! He didn't eat a bite of food, which is typical, but at least he was being friendly with some fellow classmates. That was HUGE. And in spite of the noise, and the excitement, he was fairly well controlled. He was dealing with the elevated stimulation pretty well. I'm not sure how they accomplished that. Even I could feel the excitement in the air, there. An average day at school is usually pushing him to his limits, so seeing him coping with the extremes was really neat. I was very proud of him.
This holiday season has me a bit worn out. I have been battling a flu for quite a while, where it never seems to hit full force, but drags me down. And with Nathan's tantrums getting harder to deal with (he hits HARD now, and I can't just pick him up and scoot him out of the room), I am feeling it. On the other hand, the melt downs are getting further apart, and his social skills are improving greatly! That gives me hope, and a boost to face the next challenge.
I'll be glad when the holiday season begins to wind down to a close. I love Christmas, but it sometimes feels like I'm walking a mine field with Nathan. I don't know if the stress is getting to me more than usual, or if the stress is just greater. At least I'm getting to do some cooking this season. I enjoy that, and it's been like therapy for me. It's fun to delve into a huge feast for a big group. I enjoy cooking when I have a lot of time to devote to it.
Well, I need to get back to wrapping. And cooking.
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