I don't think my sister will mind if I share this on my blog. She posted it on Facebook, her place to vent or air what is going on inside of her. She is an English teacher, so writing is natural for her. I am so proud of her. It was a joyful day and to read that she got her joy back....what a gift!
How I Took Christmas Back from the Grinch......
How I Took Christmas Back from the Grinch......
Christmas used to be a much hated nuisance to me. Auitsm + Christmas = Stress X 100000. The inside of an autistic person is chaos which is why they have rules and rituals they must follow. It is how they keep the chaos on the inside under control. Nick's day starts with breakfast then meds then whatever is scheduled for the day. Christmas is no different. One of the saddest things I ever saw was a tree full of presents and Nick methodically doing his rituals to start his day not really giving a fig about the gifts. Try explaining to your excited three year old that she has to wait until brother finishes his rituals until she can tear into hers. Then it was off to my mom's and pray Nick doesn't bite anyone because all the noise is driving him nuts. He usually spent most of the day off by himself. So, no, I didn't really care for Christmas. A big fan of Jesus just not his birthday party.
Time passed and we adjsuted. Nick and church really do not mesh well, but we tried to celebrate as best we could. He likes bakimg a birthday cake for Jesus. Nick loves the lights so we always go to Choupique. He loves to sing so we sing Christmas songs. (At the top of our lungs in my car when it is just me and him.) His favorite is O Christmas Tree. Of course, Skylar enjoys everything about Christmas, so that is nice. I really miss Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and just once I would love for Nick to run up to me and ask for an XBOX 360, but it was tolerable.
But, you know, life is too short for things to be just tolerable. So, this year I somehow convinced my mother that she needed a break and to have Christmas here. You all know how I love to cook and did I ever cook! Rice dressing and oyster dressing. Dips and desserts. Nick and I went to three grocery stores to get it all. The more I cooked the more excited he got. He would tell me, "The kids are coming." He had such a good time celebrating with his family and participated the best he could, and if he got overwhelmed then he went to his room, regrouped, and came back.
I still miss certain things about Christmas that he cannot do or we cannot do as a family with him, but I got my joy back that comes with celebrating the birth of Christ. I wonder what new dish I can find for next year's menu.......
Time passed and we adjsuted. Nick and church really do not mesh well, but we tried to celebrate as best we could. He likes bakimg a birthday cake for Jesus. Nick loves the lights so we always go to Choupique. He loves to sing so we sing Christmas songs. (At the top of our lungs in my car when it is just me and him.) His favorite is O Christmas Tree. Of course, Skylar enjoys everything about Christmas, so that is nice. I really miss Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and just once I would love for Nick to run up to me and ask for an XBOX 360, but it was tolerable.
But, you know, life is too short for things to be just tolerable. So, this year I somehow convinced my mother that she needed a break and to have Christmas here. You all know how I love to cook and did I ever cook! Rice dressing and oyster dressing. Dips and desserts. Nick and I went to three grocery stores to get it all. The more I cooked the more excited he got. He would tell me, "The kids are coming." He had such a good time celebrating with his family and participated the best he could, and if he got overwhelmed then he went to his room, regrouped, and came back.
I still miss certain things about Christmas that he cannot do or we cannot do as a family with him, but I got my joy back that comes with celebrating the birth of Christ. I wonder what new dish I can find for next year's menu.......
1 comment:
Donna, your sister must be an angel, what a heartfelt story.
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