Dear Addie,
It seemed as if we were just going about our business enjoying spring, and just like that - winter struck! Slapped us right in the face. The snow apocalypse of 2020 in NC had finally arrived, and with it came grocery stores wiped out of bread, milk (probably a healthy dent in the wine department), and approximately an inch and a half of snow - batten down the hatchets y’all! It’s snowing!
Now we laugh, yes, being from the north and having actually seen some serious snow and ice storms in our time, this really seems like nothing, but truth of the matter is...it’s actually quite a big deal around here. Of course, there’s always the person that grew up in some snow lands somewhere that thinks - “fools, I’ve got this!” Well unless you have a go-go gadget mobile that turns into a giant ice skate or snowmobile at the push of a button, just stay home. Risking ones’ life to prove “it’s not that bad out” isn’t exactly a competition people should be joining and makes it harder for road crews to actually do what they need to do! But I digress...
You see baby, the south is just not as equipped to handle things like this. Most of the time it all starts as rain, and promptly switches to snow washing away any brine that was intended to help, and the trees here are very tall and skinny leaving Paul Bunyan wide-eyed at how quickly and effortlessly ice can take them out and landing them strategically on power lines at that. Candlelit dinner anyone?
The good news, here in the south with just a blink of an eye the weather usually changes.
So with the winter wonderland anticipation in effect, schools let out early and almost right on cue of the weather timeline, flurries appeared - leaving you giddy with excitement and inevitably school canceled for the next day.
Oh no a snow day! The weather forced me the opportunity to stay in jammies for the day - oh the horror! Yeah, no complaints here.
Now I’m not gonna lie, when we lived in NY putting snow bibs, hats, gloves, mittens, what have you on three kiddos was enough to make me what to live somewhere that had palm trees during Christmas. It never failed that as soon as all the gear was on, someone had to use the potty or you my dear were peeling off layers outside quicker than I could put them on! There was so much we were still learning about you then baby girl, looking back I totally get it now. Snow is pretty, but I’ll stay inside thank you.
With the flurries turning to a full-blown snow fall, it was leaving more than a dusting, and you simply couldn’t wait to get out and swing in it! What’s better than catching snowflakes in your tongue? Catching snowflakes flying back and forth in the air!
Easy solution, just bundle you up and send you out right?!? Wrong this is when the dreaded words of “she’s a complicated case” that we’ve heard from numerous doctors come into play.
You see Addie, you have what’s called a Sensory Processing Disorder or SPD for short. A lot of autistic kiddos have sensory issues to some degree. In short, the senses that we as humans rely on daily to guide us through life are a little off and either super sensitive (hypersensitive) or barely register (hypo-sensitive). Basically, the porridge is never really “just right”.
For example, your auditory senses are usually hypersensitive - certain sounds can send you into “fight or flight” without warning. Sounds that don’t even register to mommy or daddy until after you’ve been triggered and react. Your taste senses are hyposensitive, meaning you prefer eating foods or drinks that offer a type of sensory feedback or more intense reactions. This is responsible for your love of spicy taco meat, Ms. Cristina’s homemade hot salsa, eating raw onions like apples and sucking on lemons just to name a few. Now for tactile senses, insert some complexity here. The act of washing your hair and brushing your teeth can often look more like a WWF wrestling match from your displeasure with the feeling - these reactions are more along the hypersensitive realm.
Walking on those dreaded gumballs that the trees drop around here, pine cones, sharp rocks or sticks can look effortless to onlookers. Mark it - that’s a hyposensitive reaction. All of this is actually fine and dandy most of the time, but with this comes a high pain tolerance which can become dangerous if we are not diligent at keeping an extra eye on you.
Here’s the deal, you are always going to prefer to be barefoot. Shoes make you feel less grounded and uncomfortable. I get it, I do, but no shoes (or socks) in snow and ice can eventually lead to frostbite which you can’t feel and that can have a permanently damaging impact on you.
Total side note: whenever I hear someone say (or exaggeratingly joke) “I use to walk to school, barefoot, in two feet of snow!” I immediately think - oh do you have hyposensitive tactile sensory disorder too?! Wow tell me more! Honestly Ad, I never thought I’d ever need to know such information in such great depth in my life, but here we are.
With all this in mind and your determination to swing in the snow, I knew you were going out whether I bundled you up or not so here goes nothing!
Round one.
I sent you out fully clothed and dressed ready for what could’ve kept you warm for hours of skiing. Five minutes later I look outside to you swinging boots still on, jacket nowhere in sight.
Round two, three, four, five, six, & seven.
Insert mommy going outside and gathering all of your stuff - boots (which I eventually changed out to lace up ones to see if they’d be harder to take off - silly mommy) socks, mittens, etc. only to have you come in and ask for not a cup of hot chocolate, but “make a tacos!”
Round eight.
Feeling quite exhausted by this point, I said we were done for the evening and I managed to get you in jammies totally ready for bed. And scene.
But not so fast...
Who says jammies say it’s over?! Trying to get me to let you go back outside, you found and put on a hat and gloves from the closet where we keep our winter weather necessities tucked away. After my initial laughter at your insistence and cuteness, I thought it doesn’t snow that often here so why not?!
Round nine.
Bundled up again (including snow bibs this time) out you went, until I noticed you flying happily through the air on your swing with bare feet! Ahhhhh.
Ok, now officially time for bed.
This whole scene repeated itself the next day as it was a snow day from school, only by the late afternoon most everything had melted and our yard turned into a piglet’s dream! Ah yes, mud - another sensory dream for you, but that's a story for some other day.
Addie I am happy to report that we survived the snow apocalypse of 2020. I was a wee bit exhausted, you were overjoyed, and no one got frostbite. It’s a win in my book.
Glad you had fun baby girl - even if it was only so about 12 hours of snow.
Love,
Mom
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