Just Another Day at Camp

I had a whole slurpee and a medium fries on the way home from camp today. (OK..so the fries are not that out of the ordinary but the slurpee is.) Andrew chipped his tooth..again. Same tooth..different day. I do not heart the slip and slide.

I did learn a lot at camp this week ;) Stuff happens. I learned, from talking to other moms, that although I may have flipped a wig when Andrew chipped his tooth (think bad episodic memory) I am no longer a fanatic. I was talking diets with other moms. Not that they were FANATICS mind you because then I'd have to take a serious look in the mirror, but I was chastised by a woman because my kid eats tomatoes and MD french fries. (Yes..I know they are not gluten free.) I think we have to make our own choices! And I did go thru a period where I was very strict but since we have loosened up a bit, Andrew has decided to increase his own foods. I am not even really 'sorry' about the grape issue this week. Sometimes you have to try out things to prove to yourself that you are on the right track. (But no more grapes.)

I also did a lot of back and forth in my head this week on other choices. Is RDI right? Is homeschooling right? Is it "ok" that I think, at the age of 10, that that many people and that kind of camp structure is too much for Andrew? If we did public school and ABA I bet he'd be able to handle it. But then again, I was talking with a tutor/nanny of one of the children and she mentioned that this child had tutors 6 days a week- ALL day. I don't WANT that. Another person was commenting how their child would not listen to their mom but was great with the tutors. I want Andrew to respect me as his primary guide. Does that make me a fanatic? I am pretty sure there were several people that might call me 'over protective' but our low key RDI lifestyle has been working well for us for the last 9 months. We have seen more improvements than we have ever seen in behavior and relationship.

Andrew had a major meltdown in his swimming lesson today. He truly wants to fit in at camp. It reminds me of the book I just read, "Look Me in the Eye." He desired to but didn't know how. But tossing a kid who is working on objectives with one primary guide (or two..mom and dad), can not be EXPECTED to hold it together when tossed into a large camp setting. It truly was not his fault. I mean, I lost it as an adult today. I was with a friend this week and we were talking about how we loose it as moms. So I think I should have expected this one. And should have listented to my gut and stayed home today. He lost it at swimming and it had to do with the fact that he was on overload from the entire week. He did do GREAT this week at noticing gestures, doing his own non-verbals. But all that takes a toll on a person! Even today, and the stress of everything that happened ..I have been sitting watching TV and on the computer for about four hours. I just needed to chillax. And I don't have any 'extra' needs! I so wish I had recognized and paid attention to the signs.

I am thankful for prayers. Andrew did not even CRY or SCREAM at the dentist. (And the dentist was closed but the call in dentist came in and she was great.) It was like God was right there calming him. He sat for the x-rays, let the dentist fix his tooth. It was a long 90 min drive through construction and traffic on the way home and I called a couple of people to chat. But when I got home I got an email from a friend who prayed for me around 3:30. That was when we were at the dentist. She did not know we would be there..that all this would happen. Whisper from God.