Saturday, June 16, 2012

Amusement Park Miracle

I realize that in most cases, we save the word "miracle" for truly miraculous things, such as the person who has stage 4 cancer and then it suddenly vanishes. Or the family about to be evicted from their home who then wins the lotto. But today Zavier had an amazing day at a really hot, humid, and sensory overload amusement park, and his behavior was really nothing short of a miracle. To summarize, he went climbing with his sisters in a massive, high ropes climbing structure.... he followed directions in a large bounce area... he went on several rides with no issues. He went on a ride without me, twice! (Abby took him). He attended a 30 min technicolor, rock-music-blaring, laser lights, theater production. He sat calmly, paid attention, and clapped at the end of each performance with everyone else. At min 25, when I realized he was really going to make it, I started to cry. I had to distract myself to think of something else to keep myself from sobbing - it was that much of a relief. My sensory averse child had a blast in the worst of conditions. I'm so proud of him, because I know he worked hard. And I'm so thankful to God for the blessing of this day.

With autism, life is a series of moments. Some are good, and some are... not so good. I'm soooo appreciative that we had today.