When I go to the grocery store, I kind of get in the "zone." I'm looking at my list, balancing coupons, looking for those good deals, etc. Last week, when I was doing my shopping, I heard a voice say, "so, how is your week going?" I looked over and it was the guy who stocks the shelves for Frito-Lay. I have been going to the Kroger on Tuesday mornings around the same time for as long as I can remember. I have bumped into my "buddy" on more than one occasion in the snack aisle. I think I started chatting with him one time when his huge cart was in my way. He's really nice and I asked him his opinion once about the flavor of the Lay's Dill Pickle chips, thinking he would have an inside track :) I told him that my week was going well and that I was going grocery shopping on a Wednesday just to shake things up. He said, "it's not like we're in our routines or anything is it?" We had a good chuckle, I grabbed two bags of my family's favorite potato chips and finished my shopping. Good grief, am I so set in my ways that the Frito-Lay guy recognized me like he did?!?! I know that I can pretty rigid sometimes (I'm working really hard on changing that part of my personality). My hubby has been doing yoga every morning for over 30 years. It's definitely part of his morning "routine" and I've learned through the years to give him that space and time to himself. I think it mentally prepares him for the day ahead. There is very little about my life these days that is predictable. I used to volunteer in the library at Dominic's school one day a week at the same time and on the same day. I used to tell the librarian that even if the rest of my life was busy and unpredictable, I could always count on the sameness at the library. I think it's good to be somewhat set in your ways, but also open to change. Life is not always the same everyday and wouldn't it be boring if it was?
When Dominic was diagnosed with Autism at 2 1/2, I went to our local library and took out every book I could find about Autism. Sometimes I would bring back 20 books. This was 2006, so a lot of the information was very "dated." I guess I was looking for a book that would tell me what I should do next, like a "manual." Autism doesn't quite work that way! The saying is, " if you know one person with Autism, you know one person with Autism." Every mom to an individual with Autism follows their own "path." I think as moms, we judge ourselves much harder than anyone else does. I was 41 when I had Dominic. Did he get the diagnosis of Autism because I was an older mom? because I drank a lot of pop? I could sit and think about that every minute of every day. I am pretty integrated into the Autism community around Lansing and have told more than one person that it took me about two weeks to come to terms with Dominic's diagnosis. It is so incredib...
Comments
Post a Comment