Thursday, March 31, 2016

Stretching Those "Wings"

About a week or so before Lauren came home for the Easter weekend, she asked me if I wanted to go with her to see My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 at the movie theater.  After  I double checked with the hubby that he could watch Dominic for a few hours,  I told her yes, we were on! One thing I've learned now that Lauren is about a month away from finishing her first two years of college - if she wants to spend time ALONE with me, I clear my schedule and make it happen! Lauren's first semester of her freshman year was a HUGE adjustment for me because we are very close. When she was little and a kid cut her off at the slide on the playground, I instantly stepped in and was rectifying the situation for her. Riding her bike to a friends house for the first time, I made her promise she would call me when she got there! The time she told me that she wanted to call me "mom," and not "mommy," it was hard, but I understood. As she went through high school, I had a pretty good handle on how she was doing, but at the same time kept out of her business. When it came time to shop for things for her dorm room, we did it together. Since she took her car back to college in August of last year, we haven't seen her that often. Lauren will tell me she is sorry, but I tell her, "don't be sorry, I'm glad you are having such a great time at college!"  My Mother's Day gift last year from Lauren was a poem that she wrote herself:

Mom, You're so inspiring
Your wisdom's never tiring
There's never a day that goes by
That something you do doesn't catch my eye
Whether it's making something scrumptious to eat
Or patiently asking Dominic to take a seat
Or giving me advice
Even when I ask for your opinion more than once or twice
Your endless support
Is irreplaceable, and in short
I admire you so much
And in being a mother, you have a special touch
I cannot thank you enough for all that you do
Mom, I love you!

Okay, now that I've wiped the tear from the corner of my eye, I know that as she gets older, turns 21 and graduates from college, she will continue to stretch those "wings" even more. But, you know what? This "momma bird" is okay with that, because Lauren knows I will always be there for her, just as I always have been.  





Monday, March 14, 2016

Overwhelmed

When the hubby brought Dominic home from his Confirmation Preparation class a few weeks ago, he told me that his teacher (Mrs. W) mentioned he had cried during class.  My husband said he asked Dominic a few times on the car ride home, "why were you crying?" No response.  I tried asking him a few times too and got no answer either. When I reached out to Mrs. W later, she told me,

"Dominic seemed quite pensive the entire class, as if he were thinking of something else.  We asked him a few questions and it was obvious he had something else on his mind.  It was absolutely sweet that the other kids had such concern for him and wanted to know he was okay.  What a tender moment!  One of his classmates wanted to know if he needed a hug, so we asked him and 3 volunteered to give him a quick hug.  He didn't seem to mind, and I know it did them more good than him."

Wow, what empathy Dominic's classmates had! Still, I didn't know what was bothering him, so I waited a day or two and then asked him again. His response this time was, "overwhelmed." I thought well, he had a full day of school and then his bus brought him home an hour late. He had a little less than a half hour to get a snack, etc. before the hubby took him to class. I relayed the story to Lauren this past week and she said something like, "that's pretty good he could tell you that!" I have to also remember that Dominic is a "tween."  Puberty and Autism can sometimes be a challenging "duo."  I have to keep in mind that he might not always be able to tell us what's wrong because he might not know himself until he has had some time to think it over.


I wondered how he would do today at school (he missed all of last week since we were out of town). Yesterday, we drove for 10 hours straight. With it being daylight saving time plus Lauren leaving to go back to college this morning, I wondered if I would get a call from his teacher that he was having a tough time. He made it through the day fine and he even had a substitute bus driver this afternoon!!  Right now, I hear Dominic in the family room "scripting" scenes from both  Little People and  Barney. He does that when he is over stimulated. I'm letting him have that time in his "world," to relax before we head to his Confirmation Prep class in about an hour! We all need ways to "decompress," right?

Presume Competence

Since we have traveled outside of the United States since Dominic was very small, we have had to get him a Children's Passport every fiv...