Dear Addie,
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
I personally feel there is just something so magical about this time of year – the lights, cookies, parties, cookies, presents, cookies... it all brings me so much joy (and a few extra pounds but who’s counting?)!
Not only do we get to celebrate Christmas in all its glory, but we also have not one, but two birthdays in our family with you and big sister Clara both being born in December! Yay! Show me cake! There is so much to celebrate and be thankful for, making our December packed full of festivities (and sensory overload) - ready, set, go!
In our “pre-Addie” years, we’d spend hours sifting through ornaments that contained the memories from years past. I’m sure many parents can relate to the joy of seeing preschool ornaments with sweet baby finger snowmen on them, and a date that acts as a reminder of just how quickly these young years go by. It was always a beautiful trip down memory lane, and paired with daddy’s famous hot toddy in hand and a fresh pine scent filling the air it was a very festive time! Side Note: God bless Glade plug ins, because I’m one of those crazy people that puts their tree up way too early to keep a real one alive, and I feel like if we got a live tree with my luck it would come with a family of squirrels living in it or something...no thanks!). Ah ‘tis the season for memories.
Fast forward to today and the scene is a bit different. While my love for all things Christmas still holds strong, this journey has definitely forced us to change things up a bit.
How is that you may ask?
Well, from our experience autism tends to come with a very black and white matter of fact type of thinking. Do you remember how frustrating Halloween was? Knock on this door, but don’t go in and then take the candy from a stranger - not confusing at all right?! Wrong.
Christmas isn’t much better.
Take this tree from outside and put it inside, then take these lights from inside and put them outside, then go sit on this strangers lap and tell him what you want for Christmas… we believe he ultimately holds the answer to whether or not we’ve been good or bad this year, and if he thinks we were good? Gifts abound! Bad? Show me coal! Then we put our socks up on the mantle, and let us not forget the elf that moves around in the middle of the night watching us (kinda creepy). Confused yet? It’s a lot to take in.
Well, let me start by saying autism didn’t ruin our Christmas, it just challenged us to think in a different way. For starters we break from tradition and don’t do ornaments anymore.
I know that sounds crazy right?! But it’s true. All those sweet pre-school memories (or what’s left of them) are sitting all boxed up in a storage closet. You see Addie you learned early on that trees can spin in a tree stand. One good twirl and we were under attack from our very own tree! Ornaments flying and crashing everywhere - pew-pew-pew like straight out of a Star Wars battle scene. Yikes!
If you weren’t busy spinning the tree you were finding an abundance of many like objects on it only to be removed and redistribute in orderly rows throughout the house. Red bulbs, Nutcrackers, snowflakes, bells etc....all can surely be gathered and put in a more orderly fashion then sporadically hanging on a tree, right? I mean seriously what was I thinking Addie just letting them hang wherever?! Let us not forget those that were banished to the toilet - I do wonder how many had been flushed before we finally gave up on the idea of ornaments?! Oh and a little PSA - PICA deficiencies don’t go well with metal Christmas hooks - yikes! I’d take those from your mouth over and over again… thank you very much!
Sweet Christmas villages or manger scenes that have been passed down from family members - not a chance. And snow globes, Oye, although whimsical and soothing to the eye, they aren’t exactly Addie proof - there’s more glass and water then one might think...just saying (from experience). Advent wreath? Truthfully lighting fires is only happening if it’s on a birthday cake & then immediately being blown out. Just saying.
It’s safe to say small Christmas anything that’s in your reach is a “no go” around here. Bigger is better.
So keeping my love alive for all things Christmas and trying to stay festive in the warmth and love of the season, we’ve discovered we can still be fun and jolly with larger decorations and I make it my personal fun challenge to find the next best thing for us each year...
A few weeks ago I was scrolling through social media and came across the most amazing little company - Red Feather Designs, owned by a wickedly talented mama named Robynn. On her page I found the most amazing thing… staring back at me I needed look no more, a 3ft mantle Grinch was this years perfect addition to my Christmas Joy!
I know what your thinking, a sinister looking Grinch = holiday joy?
My answer, yes!
You see Ad. The Grinch was different, bullied, treated poorly and it made his joy diminish to virtually nothing. He spent years as an outcast, a loner, and wanted to do nothing but make others feel the way he was feeling. That was until one day a special little girl came along and befriended him. She showed him kindness no matter how hard he tried to push her away. In the end her kindness changed his outlook on everything. Her simple acts of inclusion and joy to someone that most didn’t think deserves as much, ultimately filled him with Christmas spirit and joy!
The lesson in all this - spread kindness because you never know who might need it the most.
*Addie has shared her baby doll, a sheep and even gave him some cool shades since his arrival. I can't wait to hear the thought process behind this one day and am still waiting for her to share one of her onions with him! ...I hear those are his favorite treat too ;)
In our house Addie, we preach kindness. We definitely have our challenges, our family dynamic may not be like everyone else's and have had our fair share of stares and judgey eyes upon us, but kind we are and always will be.
This Grinch wasn’t just an amazingly made wooden holiday decoration added to our home this year, nope. It was a sign of joy, laughter and love. A reminder of values we hold true.
Addie I threw away expectations of how I thought life “would be” when we started this journey. We are living and learning right along beside one another - One Team, One Dream and never know who might bless us along the way. We all have our journeys Addie and we are happy that Robynn graced us with her presence on ours.
Tis the season baby girl and welcome Mr. Grinch.
I love you.
Mom
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