It's another holiday...

[Gena]

...and with it comes another change in routine, long Church services, family gatherings, special foods, and activities that other people believe should be "fun" for kids.

Lord, thank you for this day. Now give me the strength to get through it.

[elliput]

I hope your DS surprises you with how easily he handles the changes this weekend.

[Gena]

I hope your DS surprises you with how easily he handles the changes this weekend.

Thanks. I hope my ILs surprise me with how well they handle DS this weekend.

[jess_g]

I know exactly what you mean. I hope everything goes well.

Jessica

[JTsMom]

How did it end up going for everyone? It was just us here, so that was positive. DS was very happy with the things the Easter Bunny brought, but after that high point, was a mess for most of the day. The "fun stuff" that is not fun is one of the hardest parts for me. to everyone who had a challenging day.

[Gena]

Easter was kind of up-and-down for us.

DS had a meltdown about not having Sunday School, but once he calmed down he did reasonably well during Mass. He likes to follow along in the missalette, so that helps a lot. Of course Mass was packed, so that did upset him. Still, he only asked to leave (go home) twice, and tried to sing inappropriate songs only a couple of times. So overall I was proud of him.

DS refused to color eggs and refused to eat the colored eggs, so this year we had white eggs with a couple of stickers on them. It’s not as much fun; but on the bright side it was less mess.

DS was not interested in looking for the eggs DH and I “hid” (we hide them in plain sight). Eventually he did pick up most of them. There are a few still lying around. They’re –plastic with m&ms and coins, so no big deal.

We went to SIL & BIL’s house for dinner. Going there is always a little stressful. They have a two-year old girl who is perfect in every way and have a low tolerance for DS’s high energy. BIL watches DS like a hawk and is ready to correct him for any little error: not sitting in his chair properly, not playing with DN’s toys the right way, walking too fast, etc. Additionally they have pets and both DS and I are allergic to pet hair. So we both have to take a lot of allergy meds before we go. Ironically, the meds make me drowsy and make DS more hyper.

DS had a meltdown about going there. He begged first to stay home and then to stay in the car while DH and I went in. Eventually we convinced him to come in the house.

SIL had set up an egg hunt in the yard and used real hard-boiled eggs. I tried to get her to use the plastic eggs (they have a big box full of them), but SIL was so proud of the three dozen hard-boiled eggs two-year-old DN had decorated and just had to use them. So all the kids were handed a basket and sent out to hunt for eggs. DS wasn’t really into the egg-hunt. He would rather run back and forth across the yard. For one thing, he doesn’t care. For another he has a visual impairment, so unless the eggs are very obvious, he’s not going to find them. It’s fine with me if he doesn’t want to hunt for eggs. DS had already been reprimanded several times for running in the house, so I was glad he had the chance to expel some energy. But SIL was upset because there was a specific number of eggs per child and if DS didn’t get his quota it would throw off the math. After much cajoling by the other adults, DS put a few eggs in his basket. Then he again started running across the lawn, swinging his basket wildly. Just as DS ran onto the cement patio, he swung his basket up and five eggs came crashing down onto the cement. DH and I (and even MIL) couldn’t help but laugh at his startled reaction, but SIL was upset that two-year-old DN’s pretty eggs were broken (did she intend to keep them forever?). One of the other cousins was assigned to collect DS’s remaining eggs.

Dinner went reasonably uneventful and DS ate a lot, as usual. After dinner, I could tell that he was tempted to start running around the house again. So I told him he could play with his iPad if he sat on the couch. DS did and of course there were a few snarky comments about a six-year old having his own iPad and why won’t he just sit in the living room and watch movies like the other kids. They just don’t get it that DS is not like “other kids”. My two year old niece is more socially aware than DS is at almost 7.

All in all, it went OK.

This got long, so thanks for reading if you made it through.

[wellyes]

SIL was upset that two-year-old DN’s pretty eggs were broken (did she intend to keep them forever?).

Some people just don't get the point of Easter. Or family celebrations. Or kids. Sigh.

[TwoBees]

I'm glad you made it through. It sounds like, all in all, your DS did really well!

[JTsMom]

Gena, I need a cocktail just reading that. Nothing like inventing problems then waiting for them to happen.