Picnic in the Park

Last night we had a picnic in the park for the NW IL Autism Support Group.

The weather had been very spotty all day, with strong thunderstorms, followed by lovely sunshine, followed by more storms. So as I got ready to leave work, and saw huge black clouds hanging off to the north (and the direction of the park and home), I was not sure if it would take place. Dh called me at work and said it was pouring there. I shot off an email to the group leader, and asked if the picnic was still a go.

For a dish to pass, I made Nathan's favorite baked beans early in the morning, so all I had to do was heat it up. But as I dogged raindrops on the way home, I wasn't sure that would even be necessary.

A little while after I got home, I got a phonecall from the group leader, asking where the heck I was. LOL! I explained that the food was still heating up, but I would be there shortly. (I think she forgot that I work late this time of year.) I'm glad she called. By that time, the weather had cleared, and the sun was peeking out again.

By the time we walked to the park, it was gorgeous outside. There were quite a few people there, and Dh accompanied me. That was probably a surprise to the rest of the group. They had never met him, LOL! He went off with Nathan to play a little ball, and I went to chat with the other moms.

With my late work hours, by the time I arrived they had all pretty much eaten. But we got to have a pleasant chat, and the kids got to socialize some. Nathan even hit two homeruns, in an informal baseball game!

Nathan started to act funny, not long after arriving. Dh said he thought he might be sick. He turned down an offer of money for the ice cream man, and that's unheard of. I put a hand to his forehead (you know the back of a mom's hand is MUCH more accurate than a doctor's thermometer) and realized that he was ICE cold. Very odd, considering it was quite warm outside. He had goosebumps too, and at times shivered. We all tried to encourage him to drink something, but he wasn't having it. I tried to pursuade Dh that we needed to get Nathan home, but he didn't really realize how bad he was until I got him to feel for himself. Once he felt that icy cold forehead, he agreed, and we packed up to leave.

Nathan was reacting to the heat, and too little to drink. Once we got home in the air conditioning, and he wasn't running around, and I pushed some drinks at him, he started to bounce back.

Ah well. Even though we weren't there long, Nathan thought it was pretty neat. Someone gave him a glow-in-the-dark bracelet, and he was too out of it to know what it was. He tried to leave it behind, but I knew better and grabbed it. When he went to bed, I slipped it onto the arm of his teddy bear (the one he got at the Christmas party). Nathan got a huge kick out of that!

In the middle of the night, he got sick to his stomach, but I kind of expected that. (Smart kid used a bucket, so I didn't even have a bed mess to clean up.) He has often gotten an upset stomach with fevers and with overheating, so I knew it was coming. But there was no sign of his being ill this morning. He was right back to his old self. But I kept him drinking all day, to be safe.

I wish we could have been there longer last night, but I had a nice time while it lasted.