It was a beautiful 65 degrees on Sunday and since this was the first real warmth we had seen in months, it seemed like the entire city was out trying to take advantage of the fantastic weather (who would have thought this Southern California girl would have ever considered 65 degrees warm). We made an attempt to go to the Zoo but traffic didn’t allow us to get within a mile (we waited for more then an hour on the streets of Forest Park before we gave up and turned around). We settled on Zachary’s Park, a local park that was built to allow a wheelchair bound boy (Zachary) and the rest of his friends and family to play at the park together. It is an amazing park.
Owen doesn’t usually enjoy being outside. He has grass allergies, so this is the perfect park for him, the ground is made entirely of the rubber bits that wheelchair can roll over and if you fall, you almost bounce. We spent an hour and a half, running and playing and swinging and climbing and SOAKING UP THE SUN!
The Generosity of Children
Owen has a really special relationship with his cousin Sophia. She has Aspergers also and I can only guess that this similarity made them both comfortable with each other from the very beginning. She is 2 ½ years older then he is and is a wonderful teacher for him, a really leader. She does things that he wouldn’t dream of doing, like sing the school choir. To watch them have a conversation is with each other is both fascinating and entertaining. Sophia will often map out the conversation for Owen, “now you should say this…” and he does, he follows along and learns the right way to have a conversation. All things I assume she’s learned from her various therapies in school.
This relationship information was necessary to see how tender this next part is…
We celebrated Sophia’s 10th birthday and her little sister Sabrina’s 3rd birthday on Saturday. Sophia loves reading “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books. So the family took note and she received 2 “Diary of a Wimpy Kid Journals”. Mamaw told Sophia that she could return one of the books and get something else. Sophia responded with “Or I could give one of them to my best cousin Owen and we could be diary twins” It was so sweet. They call each other best cousins, not best friends. Love them. How many kids do you know that would give away one of their birthday presents on their birthday?
It's Like Riding a Bike
Brooklynn had her very first bicycle adventure this Saturday, it was so exciting. It started with hysterical tears, before she ever got on the bike, she threw a complete fit, insisting that she "couldn't do it", the "she would fall off", etc. I got eye to eye with her and promised her I wouldn't let her go. She agreed to get on the bike and we went all the way around the block. I was proud of her, but the best part was how proud she was of herself. It was so great to hear her say "Mom, I'm doing it".Cub Scouts
Saturday was an exciting day for Owen's Cub Scouts den. We went to the Lindenwood radio station "89.1 The Wood". It began with a tour of the station, the boys were very interested (so were the adults). Then all the boys piled into one of the recording studios to do intros of themselves. It was very funny to see the usually bold, outgoing kids, shriek back in shyness when the microphone was turned on. The recording studio was too crowded for Owen. He left the room and sat in the corner of the hallway by himself. The last part of the tour was a live on-air interview. The boys were given specific instructions about how quite they had to be in the live studio when they went on air. We went in the room and Owen instantly began making his nervous Pokemon noises. I quickly took him out of the room. He didn't watch from the window, he sat alone in the corner. I gave him his time alone and then asked him how he was doing. He said it was just too loud there. It was heartbreaking to see him struggle so much with something I thought he would enjoy.We left the station before anyone else. I decided to take Owen to lunch, just the two of us, as a way to wind down, talk about the morning. I took him to Pizza Pro, the one place that always makes him happy. He sate nothing, and barely spoke. I guess the morning was just too much for him.
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