With a wide range of ages, ability levels and interests, it’s been challenging to find activities our whole family can enjoy together. There is an 11 year difference between our oldest and youngest child. Josiah has limited attention skills. Often times he is loud. He definitely draws attention to himself, and the rest of the family for that matter. It’s not always comfortable for the other children. Who am I kidding? It’s not always comfortable for me.
NOT Chocolate Pudding
I wait all week for one show. Sunday nights at 7 pm you will find me engrossed in ‘Secret Millionaire’. What an amazing premise. This series highlights goodness, kindness, compassion and generosity. I was hooked from the very first show. Turns out tonight’s millionaire grew up just a few minutes from my hometown. I have an even greater connection to the show now and watch with rapt attention. Chandler and Jesse watch with me. Josiah plays near by with some Mardi Gras beads and Rick is in the kitchen whipping up an Italian feast.
Communicating
Josiah is non-verbal. He has vocalizations. But, he doesn’t talk. He may never be able to tell us what he wants, with words.
He has some sign language. He used to know 45 signs. I wrote them all down once, along with the date. I had a plan. I would teach him 5 new signs each week. I made a list and classified the signs in order of importance. I put a target date for each sign to be mastered. I’m not sure what happened to that plan. It never materialized. He uses only 4 signs most of the time: eat, more, drink, and finished.
The Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Had To Do
It’s been a little more than a year now. Thinking about it still brings tears to my eyes. I swore I would never do it. Even though I hadn’t really verbalized that to anyone in particular, I just knew deep in my heart I could never, ever do it. But sometimes we don’t have a choice. Sometimes life becomes so painful, the hardest thing becomes the only thing. And so it happened.
Little Houdini
Bang! The sound of a door slamming shut awakens me from a dreamy mid-afternoon nap. Slowly I force myself out of bed. A quick glance out the window to the driveway confirms my husband’s car is gone. No one is home. Obviously Rick must have left and taken the kids with him on an errand.
Someone, in a hurry probably banged the door shut. I check the back door, both locks are secure. The front door however is unlocked. Definitely NOT good. Read more