Stopping the Buzz to Give Thanks

It's the week of Thanksgiving, and I can already feel the familiar humming in my head – background noise like the annoying sound of florescent lighting – as I sit and think of all that is coming up: the details, the meals, the parties, the gifts, the wrapping, the cookies, the diet (that begs to be forgotten), the kids’ programs, and family gatherings. Add those things to a regular workload of a part-time job at home, housecleaning and taking care of the family and there is the buzz of stress.

I’m no different than anyone else. We all feel it. What should be a simple time of reflection is now a battle to keep it together when everyone and everything seems to want a piece of your time.

How do you guard the true spirit of Thanksgiving and Christmas for yourself and your families? Good question! Any comments out there?

I am going to make every effort to do that this year. But I know it will be a battle at times. I think it will be worth the fight, though.

Alec is noticing Christmas trees already. (Our first tree farm went up today in our area.) He says, “Christmas tree! Christmas tree!” I can tell I am going to enjoy seeing Christmas through his eyes this year, because I don’t believe those eyes were able to understand what was going on around him last year. This year will be different, I can tell. And I am thankful to God for that blessing.

I am blessed with two wonderful ABA tutors who are making tremendous progress with Alec, and Alec loves both of them. They are energetic, excited, loving and knowledgeable about ABA. I am especially thankful to have them on our team.

I also have Miss Natalie and Miss Ginny with the school system who work Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays with Alec. They are helping him develop friendships among other things. Alec is doing so well.

And, as always, I have a family who is supportive of me. They are there to help and lend a hand when I need help.

What can I say about Matt? I am at a loss for words because I can’t imagine me without him. He is always there, always patient, strong when I am weak, confident in the future and full of hope and encouragement. He is simply the best dad (and husband!) I know. I will never understand why God chose to bless me in such a wonderful way by choosing Matt as my husband. It is so humbling to have think about it.

I didn’t always have that type of love. I had to grow to be ready for it. Those were very hard years, and I may tell you about them sometime, but I don’t regret one day of them. They made me who I am, and made me know that God is truly faithful to bring me through anything. Every challenge, every heartache, every tear… He was always there. That is where I draw my confidence that Alec will be okay. I know because I can look back on my life and see that God has always taken care of me. I have learned to trust in Him, because He has always been trustworthy.

Well, time to go. Much to do, and isn’t that where I started with this? Glad for the moment to stop. I pray each of you a very blessed Thanksgiving. Here's one to mull on:

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and bless His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever, His faithfulness continues through all generations." Psalm 100:4-5

Trick or Treat!

For the first time, Alec joined his big sister Elise in the candy assault on the neighborhood. Walking from house to house, Alec would say "I love candy!" In former years, I couldn't even get Alec out of the door!

Fine-Tuning the Program

Yesterday, Alec's ABA team met to fine-tune his program. Alec is a rapid learner, so our educational consultant devised a new program which brings in a broader range of targets to learn during his ABA sessions. I am excited about the new program and waiting to see how it goes this week.

My two therapists, Julie and Desiree, are very insightful, bringing much to the table for Alec. I feel extremely blessed to have found them. We are moving forward and the next month should help quicken the pace in Alec's learning. He has learned so much already!

Few and far between are the tantrums now, which used to be a daily issue with Alec, mostly due to frustration in his ability to communicate. Oh, he can still get angry and upset, but he can communicate his frustration in a better way. He can tell I understand him and that alone brings him a sense of well-being.

Alec is still in his early intervention classes three days a week. (His ABA classes are only on two days because they are so expensive ...) I don't know exactly what is being worked on at his early intervention classes with the public school system, but I do believe the one-on-one work with ABA is showing the most promise. He is getting socialization skills at his school. It's my goal to go and volunteer at his school soon so that I will know more about what is going on.

Things to do on the horizon:

• Get testing done for allergies and intolerances, particularly paying attention to corn;
• Tweak Alec's IEP and possibly take on a battle for additional ABA;
• Review his OT and Speech needs and tweak those resources;

The holidays are coming! My personal goal is to relax in them and try to find the true Spirit of Christmas, rather than the commercial mess it can become. I still am only satisfied and at peace in the true message of God's greatest gift to us. I am looking for ways to communicate the true meaning of Christmas to not only Elise this year (my five year old daughter), but to Alec, too. Somehow, using a limited selection of words and memorized phrases, I pray to communicate to Alec what Christmas is really about this year!