Dear Addie,
Last week, we took a much-needed break from our day-to-day chaos to celebrate one of my two favorite holidays, Thanksgiving (I think my love of the Grinch speaks for itself on the other), and your grandma Menzo's 70th birthday in the Outer Banks: Fun and Fun. Now, having a relatively large family gathering altogether or doing anything as a large group often means schedules get changed, and environments become less familiar, leaving any family raising someone with autism on high alert for the predictably unpredictable moments that most definitely will arise. But when - now that is the fun part (said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.) Also, having a hypersensitive auditory system meant we needed to be prepared for any potential sensory assaults leading to fight or flight moments from any abrupt or loud sounds that not only large gatherings can bring but also go hand in hand with just about any holiday function. Anyone in this boat knows headphones only do so much. Fingers crossed!
Let the OBX family adventure begin!
Addie, the OBX has been coined your happy place for a few years now; having a familiar place to stay was a check in the correct box for you and us, as it offers a safe, decompressing place if needed. While a few of your uncles stayed with us, the rest of the family rented a beautiful home where most of our gatherings would take place just a few blocks away – so close enough to go back and forth if needed. More checks in the box for us!
First up, Thanksgiving at the rental house.
Being in a three-story home (equipped with an elevator you refused to use, but once), the festivities took place on the third floor, where the kitchen and living room were located. You seemed to have zero issues with the number of people and were snuggling up to whoever was closest to you. You knew these were your people. All good.
It did not take long before the cheering for the football game (Go Lions!) started, and you calmly but swiftly made your way down to the first floor via stairs to escape the noise. This would happen repeatedly but relatively calmly every time. Up and down, up and down. I'm not going to lie. We got our steps in that day Ad! But we were very proud of how you were managing everything.
On one of our trips to the first floor, I decided to sneak to the restroom super quick, whereupon, by exiting the restroom, I found you half naked and searching for a "babbing suit" in your diaper bag. Side note: The house had a hot tub and a pool, but seeing it was 50 degrees, we figured the hot tub was a safe bet, and you'd want to use it, seeing it was you truly enjoy the one at our house up the street. Now, me not realizing how close dinner was to being done, I did not see any harm in letting you play in the hot tub for a bit. "Babbing suit," on and out we went. Until… Well played, Addie, well played. You had a different idea in mind and went immediately for the Polar Plunge route of the swimming pool - brrrrrrr.
You spent the next 45 minutes splashing about, getting out, and jumping back in, having the most joyful time. I told Dad to go ahead with dinner as I didn't know how long (what I considered this polar plunge) would take. Insert a child that doesn't register hot and cold like most – turkey can wait.
As I watched you jump up and down in pure delight, I was thankful for how far you've come. Living in a world not designed for you is in no way easy and tests you (& us) sometimes daily, but here you were, living your best life in a pool all to yourself on Thanksgiving with no care in the world but happiness.
You eventually made your way out of the pool to eat turkey, and I'm happy to report the rest of the trip, while we did a lot of stairs, was smooth sailing and uneventful for any fight or flight.
This year, we spent Thanksgiving with our extended family, and you decided a pre-dinner dip was precisely what you needed. As always, there was so much to be thankful for.
Proud of you, baby girl.
Love,
Mom
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