Dear Addie,
A few weeks ago, a sneeze disrupted our family plans. What most people may not realize is that having a hypersensitive auditory system isn't just about general sounds, but for you, it's about certain tones and pitches. Sneezing - no, a baby crying - yes, any applause - no, Fire truck siren, trains whistles - yes. While we can manage with headphones and certain decompression tactics, if you're already agitated (we've all woken up on the wrong side of the bed at one time or another, unless you don't sleep in a bed, maybe a hammock, but I digress...) Something like a sneeze can send you into a flight or fight response very quickly.
Now, let's back up a bit and revisit the advice we, as special needs parents, are often given on this journey: " Exposure is key." Yeah, that's way easier said than done, but what other choice do we have? We are not entirely interested in living under a rock so we do our best and keep trying, which brings us to this past weekend when big sister Clara was home for fall break and we had a perfect opportunity for a redo of our family eating out.
With pizza on our minds, fall weather settling in (just kidding this is the south it was still 80 degrees) we grabbed our bag of sensory fidgits, extra clothes for you just in case and headed downtown for some pizza and family time.
Recently, after "sneeze-gate", we found ourselves in a situation where we needed a quick exit. Having said that, we chose to sit outside, which turned out to be fantastic because we were right next to a train stop and if there's anything we know about your auditory likes and dislikes - trains get a thumbs up! Since North Carolina has a very active railroad system, our fingers were crossed that we might just get to see some trains even go by.
Addie, the stars must have aligned on this day because it was absolutely perfect. Pizza, family and trains. I know not every outing is going to be magical, but it's these simple afternoons together where the only unpredictablity in our predictably unpredictable life (say that 3 times fast) is laughter, togetherness, calm and maybe some loud train whistles ;) these days are the ones we hold a little tighter.
This past weekend our dream team was all together again and it was just perfect.
Love,
Mom
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