Its not always hard.
We had friends over for dinner Friday night, and Elias played pretty well with the other kids. He and Owen took turns throwing the Nerf football at his bookshelf, trying to knock down his horse therapy ribbons. They both sat on his raised bed and leaned against the rail which equalized the playing field. Without worrying about balance, Elias has a rifle of a shot. They laughed and took turns, even passing the ball to each other when I would forget whose turn it was and give the wrong boy the ball.
And then it is hard.
One of our friends' daughters, almost three, sobbed at arrival. Her parents took turns trying to ease her into the space.
"Is it all the commotion?"
"No, she's scared of Elias."
As she should be. He's a bigger boy who pushes and grabs with his too strong hands. He's unpredictable and off balance, like a bull in a china shop, you never know what he'll make crash. She's an only child, tentative by nature, an observer who feels out the room before breaking a smile.
By the end of the night, she didn't want to leave.
Its not always hard.
On Saturday, when Olive used Elias's beloved Ipad, instead of pushing her out of the chair or grabbing it from her hands, Nick heard him say, "Olive when you are finished, can I have a turn?"
And we weren't even in the room.
And.
Olive gave it back to him.
Just like that.
Hallelujah!!!
Posted by: danielle in zurich | 09/24/2012 at 02:52 AM
it's moments like those you just mentioned that carry us through the times when pulling our hair out seems like the only alternative- and they always seem to come at just the right time!
Posted by: Jill | 09/24/2012 at 05:27 AM
If they knew how easy we were to please they might try things like that more often! glad your weekend was restoring. xo.
Posted by: fleming | 09/24/2012 at 06:56 AM
smiling for you!
Posted by: Erin | 09/24/2012 at 11:38 AM
So glad it was a good weekend! What a roller coaster this whole parenting thing is. Just when you think you've got a handle on it, it surprises you. And sometimes in just the right way.
Posted by: Kate | 09/24/2012 at 11:43 AM
It really sounds like Elias is growing into some new skills and empathy. Wow.
Posted by: Maureen | 09/24/2012 at 07:45 PM
Just another manic Monday...
Oh Elias had another full melt-down at school today because he didn't want to leave his classroom to go to speech. He even drew blood when he hit or squeezed or scratched his Aide in the face. Just a small mark but still. This is the same Aide he told me he wanted to marry, who is our respite worker, and on the weekend days when she picks him up in the afternoon, he spends the whole morning asking, "Is it time for Ms. Julia?"
When we talked about it later he told me he didn't remember hitting her. "Were we in the hall?" he asked. Yes, thankfully this all happened out of sight of his peers. I'm not sue if he really doesn't remember or doesn't want to talk about it with me.
Oh man, just when I felt a smidgeon of hope now I'm back to wanting to disappear in my own puddle.
Hoping for a better day tomorrow.
Posted by: Christy | 09/24/2012 at 10:03 PM
2 steps forward, one step back.....
Posted by: fleming | 09/25/2012 at 07:07 AM