Like most kids with any sort of special needs, continuing summer education is crucial. School, camp, any kind of structure through the summer plays a key role in getting back into the swing of things in the fall. So Logan had a couple weeks off, and today was the big day: summer school!
We'd been prepping him for a week that he'd be going- but sometimes that doesn't help. I'm not saying he 'fought' this in the traditional sense, but he definitely fought it in a Logan sense- which can drive me ABSOLUTELY INSANE!
The first thing he did was drag his feet about getting to bed last night, even though I warned him over and over, morning was coming fast and he would be tired. It was almost as if he thought by delaying sleep, he could delay going. He wouldn't discuss it- turned his head and shut his eyes when I would mention it, so I just kept reiterating over and over, tomorrow you are going to school.
This morning the alarm went off, and I went to wake him..
I lean over his bed, directly over his face "Logan, time to get up" [quick left hook- successfully dodged]
"I will give you 10 minutes, and I will be back" [kick, book whipped in my direction- also dodged (yea I am fairly agile before coffee surprisingly)]
I go downstairs, get coffee and hear the 'thud thud thud' of his feet going across the upstairs hallway, bathroom door *SLAM* okay, at least he's up..About 15 minutes goes by, no shower yet. I go upstairs, yell through the door to get in the shower, and I go into my room to start getting my clothes etc. I come out, bathroom door is open, shower is dry. Water all over the floor. wtf? He did 'something' in the sink. Toothbrush-dry. Hand towels- dry. Soap- dry. what the hell did he do in the sink? Oh well doesn't matter.
I get downstairs and he is playing his video games, still in his pj's. omg. Now we're on a time limit, his ride will be there in 30 minutes. I BULLY him into going upstairs (yes I am a bully when I have to be, threatening to throw the game system out the window) and he finally moves. Thank you lord, cuz now I am starting to sweat.
He's showering. and showering. and showering. until I have to go upstairs, yell through the door HURRY UP. I go sit on his bed to wait. He FINALLY comes into the room, sopping wet. I lean back on the bed and my hand touches something...gross. On his pillow- toothpaste. Uh..I wont even ask, not worth the discussion, we are on a time limit. I go to straighten up his bed...powder - all over the bed. then I start to notice- there is powder everywhere. We have had this issue before, and I knew right away what he'd been doing. I said- "Logan, why's everything covered in powder?" he points to the fan. Ugh. Still, no time for this. "get dressed. meet me downstairs. hurry. bring everything you need for school and don't forget socks"
I go down, scouring cabinets for something for breakfast. The husband is the breakfast man, but he had an early appointment. Damn, not alot to choose from. I find a can of pears and put them in a bowl. He isn't a huge breakfast eater, but at least its something in his stomach.
I go into the downstairs bathroom, I hear him come downstairs, and sit down at the table. I come into the kitchen, he is sitting there, table in front of him empty. "Uh, what happened to the pears?" he points to the trash and exclaims "I hate it pears!" blah, ok. What else is there? Yogurt? nope. Sandwich? yuck. Cereal? no. "Daddy's breakfast" Grrrrrr. I talked him into PB&J.
Time's running out, let's go let's go. He takes his time, then decides to clean every crumb off the table in front of him. He moves reeeeeeally slowly, never making eye contact with me, ignoring me completely. He is soo mad I am making him go.
Without a word, he leaves the table, and instead of heading towards the door to leave he is heading toward the stairs. I say "hey! where are you going? we need to get shoes on!" he says "bathroom" ohhh no, are you kidding me? I know what this means and we don't have time for a marathon bathroom session!
No rushing this kid, in the bathroom or anywhere else. He just doesn't acknowledge that there is time passing by, that you can actually miss things by being late (like rides!) He has no concept of the clock, or days, or weeks. It's extremely hard to explain it to him so he can grasp how this all works.
FINALLY I hear him coming back down the stairs. He walks right by me, never acknowledging my existence. I follow, grabbing his backpack, sunglasses and hat. We get onto the porch, "where are your socks?" *shrugs* ARGH, I rush back upstairs and grab a pair. I get back to the porch and he is sitting on a chair, looking away from me. "Let's get shoes and socks on, come on let's move" No eye contact. I man handle his feet into socks, then shoes and start to walk away.
He gets up and follows and I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn and he hugs me. I tell him "have a good time at school bud" and he gives me a kiss on the cheek and walks out to wait for the ride.
Tomorrow, we will be getting up earlier.
