I'm Patty, and my husband and I are living with our adult son who has autism and epilepsy. I love sharing lessons learned from life around me, especially life with Aaron.
Author: Patty hesaidwhatks
I'm Patty and I write about our adult son who has Epilepsy and Autism, who still lives with my husband and me, and who is a package full of many surprises and joys and challenges and TALK! Lots of talking, which creates laughter and some other reactions as well. I also write about how God shows Himself to me in everyday life.
My husband and I had a little getaway last week. The hotel where we stayed is the same hotel we have used before. It’s part of a major chain and one that we trust due to our past good experiences there.
This stay, however, wasn’t so pleasant in a few ways – the main one being their new cleaning policy. We were less than pleased for several reasons, even after filling out a form that we were never told about when checking in a few days earlier.
I took a couple pictures before we checked out and fully intended to post an honest review on their web site, and maybe even share it on FB. That’s how unhappy I was.
But Afghanistan…
I walked into our nearby grocery store today. The aisles have been shuffled, yet again. I felt irritated. I almost complained to a fellow customer who was standing there at the end of an aisle looking as befuddled as I’m sure I did.
But Afghanistan…
My favorite low-carb ice cream bars are still not in stock, at any store, for some strange reason. I’ve griped to my husband about it and felt that same grumbling desire hit me as I looked at the still empty freezer shelf today.
But Afghanistan…
My Sparkling Ice flavor of choice was gone today.
It’s so hot here.
And so dry.
So many reasons to be dissatisfied.
But Afghanistan…
I am a free woman. I am safe. My family is safe.
Going to church to worship Jesus is not a death sentence for me.
I don’t fear that dreaded knock on our door that might bring torture or death.
I could go on, but all of you know what I’m talking about. You see the horrible images and hear the terrifying reports.
Oh God, may I not let petty and trivial issues spoil my joy.
And every time I am tempted to do just that, may I instead stop and pray for the people of Afghanistan, and the Americans left there, who are suffering more than I can even begin to fathom.
Fill me with thankfulness for every single good blessing that I have all around me.
Fill me with compassion for the Afghan people.
Fill me with the compulsion to pray for my fellow believers there.
It’s easy to say that I don’t want to think about all this sadness. I want to be happy.
How shallow!
The least I can do is to keep these suffering people in my mind and in my prayers…to be aware of and in sorrow for their tragic needs.
For the past two days we had a small and gentle snow that fell to the ground and blanketed our brown earth with a fresh coat of white. Besides needing the moisture, it was a relief to look outside and see the drab brown grass and trees transformed into the beauty of a soft winter wonderland…new and sparkling white.
Andrea is still here with us as she enjoys the last day or two of her Christmas break. Along with her, we have her adorable dog – Darcy. Darcy is so small compared to our huge Great Dane, Jackson. The difference in their sizes was very evident yesterday as I looked down at their footprints in the snow. I had no trouble being able to distinguish which print was Jackson’s and which was Darcy’s. The impressions that each dog made in the snow was undeniable…big for Jackson and small for Darcy.
I’ve been thinking about footprints and pondering the significance of those footprints that we cannot see…the footprints that we leave in the lives of people that cross our paths. I have specifically been thinking of Aaron – of some of the people that have left a footprint in his life and therefore have impacted mine. The footprints don’t have to be huge or to be many in order to leave an impact.
Years ago we had a dinner after the morning service at our church. By this time, Aaron was in his teens and his differences were very pronounced. Most of his peers did not know what to do with Aaron…how to talk to him or relate to him. They weren’t unkind but most simply handled the situation of Aaron by ignoring him, or by speaking briefly and then walking uncomfortably away from this person who was so unusual. As I went through the serving line and filled my plate, I looked around for Aaron in order to direct him to the table where we would be sitting. But there was no Aaron to be found as my eyes scanned the room.
Then I saw him sitting at a table full of teenaged boys. I wondered if Aaron had just seated himself there and my heart fell as I feared that he might be ignored. It was then that Gary told me that one of the young men at that table, Tyler Ellis, had asked Aaron if he wanted to sit with them. I was shocked…and I was also so very happy. What to Tyler probably seemed like a very small thing to do was instead a huge blessing to Gary and me. That incident left a footprint in my heart that remains today…a footprint of kindness that still warms me and makes me smile.
I have another footprint involving a young man that had his own struggles yet had a heart of gold. Paul Gilbow came over to our house to swim with Aaron. What was routine for our other children was rare for Aaron…to have someone purposely come over to swim with him and spend time with him. I remember the joy that filled my heart as I looked out the window and watched Paul and Aaron swim. Paul was unaffected by Aaron’s unusual behaviors or speech or appearance. He gave Aaron a day of normalcy and fun, and he gave me a footprint in my life that will stay forever. Paul has left this earth but his sweet footprint remains with me.
We each leave footprints in the lives of others. Some of those prints are with intent as we purposely reach out to touch others and to help them along the way…or sadly as we may reach out to inflict verbal pain or to ignore those that we dislike. Other prints we may never see or realize as we affect people in ways of which we are unaware. I often wonder that if the footprints of our attitudes and our deeds were visible, like Jackson’s and Darcy’s, then what would mine look like? When I leave a footprint in some one’s life, what kind will it be? Will someone look at the footprints in their life and recognize mine? And if they do, will it be because of a smile or an act of love and caring? Or will they see anger or frustration or neglect?
I want this New Year to be a year of making the right kinds of footprints in the lives of others…and to remember that even the very smallest of prints can leave a lifelong, profound effect on those whose lives I somehow touch.
One recent night, after Aaron and I had watched an episode of The Waltons, I had a brilliant idea. Now you must understand that after the program we are watching is over, Aaron wants the television off. No watching ANYTHING else when our show is over.
Don’t ask me why. Don’t ask me to explain many of Aaron’s quirks. He has his own rules in his own way, and he expects us to abide by those rules. If we don’t…well, it’s not utopia around here.
Back to my brilliant idea. During our last visit to see our daughter and son-in-law, Andrea had shared a fun song with us. She played it on YouTube, on their big screen TV, and I LOVED it. The song is Sea Shanty Medley by Home Free.
Fast forward to our house on this particular night as Aaron and I finished watching The Waltons. I wisely decided that while Aaron cleaned up the multiple snacks he carries to the family room to tide him over during our show, and while I finished my before-bed chores, that I would turn to YouTube on our new big television and listen to Sea Shanty Medley.
So, I did just that.
And Aaron became unglued.
Watching something…ANYTHING…after our show is not allowed.
“MOM!!! Turn that OFF!!” he exclaimed.
And I…being the kind mother that I am…turned the volume up a tad.
Aaron also turned his volume up more than a tad.
So I…remember my kindness…played the song a second time.
Let’s just say that it was quite a relief when Aaron finally fell asleep later.
The next night, after watching the next Waltons episode, Aaron’s head jerked around to me as soon as the last Walton’s goodnight and musical note was over. He was checking to see if I clicked on YouTube again.
“MOM!!” he loudly said, “don’t listen to that UTOPIA music like you did last night!!”
Oh my goodness, how he can make me want to laugh in the middle of my frustration!
I wanted to correct him.
“It’s YouTube, Aaron, NOT utopia!! Believe me, this is not utopia around here!”
But I didn’t.
However, his comment has made me think a lot about our version of utopia.
Utopia – defined as a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions.
Aaron’s version of utopia centers around his desire to have his life ordered in those rather eccentric ways that matter to him. We do it this way every time, people! If we cooperate, then his life is a place of ideal perfection. Never mind that ours is not.
But life doesn’t work that way and therefore Aaron’s utopia gets all jumbled up…as does ours.
Yet even more important is our attitude concerning this utopia idea. Gary and I do get tired of Aaron’s ups and downs…of how verbal he can be when he is angry…of how tiring it can be to try to meet his utopia demands while keeping our own in mind.
One evening, Gary and I were particularly spent. We snuck out to our front porch and sat in our rocking chairs, breathing at last without Aaron’s interruptions.
But then this happened.
It was another moment when our attitude was tested. And we have learned that it’s best to adapt to each of these moments with as much kindness and laughter as we possibly can. Easier said than done some days.
Back to our utopia. We have changed our own personal definition of utopia as we have parented Aaron over the years. Our satisfaction and joy must be centered in trusting God. In knowing that where He has placed us is where He will give us what we need.
Let me share with you some beautiful pictures of our utopia.
The pure delight of bubbles:
The sweetness of sharing a beetle with Mollie next door:
The delight he finds in animals:
The fun he creates out of the mundane:
The happiness found in a simple game:
The rapture of all that cheese on his pizza:
Our attitude is of utmost importance. Our attitude determines our joy. We can always be looking at that other definition of utopia…an imaginary and remote place of perfection.
Or we can resolve to look at our utopia in the face of our special son.
Yesterday as I ate my lunch, I saw a picture on my computer that started my mind turning toward some issues that make me sad. As I wrote in my last blog (Listening Carefully), I know better than to let my thoughts stay on certain matters that will pull me down. I am consciously practicing, more and more, immediately turning my heart to God and affirming to Him…and to me…that I trust Him totally.
As I sat at my table, thinking on these things and praying, these words came to me. I shared them right away on Facebook.
It was around 1:30, and soon I was to go pick Aaron up at his day group. He had a seizure early that morning, around 4:30, but felt fine and so was able to go on and spend the day with his friends.
When we got home, as we talked about many things…because with Aaron there are always many things that he wants to talk about…I mentioned to him that I saw his empty deodorant in his bathroom trash can.
“Yes!” he said, “I put some on this one but not on this one!”
I turned to see him holding up one arm at a time as he showed me which arm pit had gotten deodorant and which one had not. 😊
I left him in his bathroom to remedy the arm pit situation. I had just sat at my desk in my bedroom nearby when I heard the awful crash and the sounds of a big seizure.
I yelled for Gary and ran in the bathroom to see Aaron laying in the tub. He had fallen backward into the tub, taking with him the shower curtain and rod. He was entangled in all that, plus in his shirt that he had been removing. The first thing to do was to hold his head to keep him from continually banging it on the hard tub as he seized. Gary had run upstairs, grabbing one of Aaron’s small pillows to put under Aaron’s head.
These sudden and very dangerous seizures are just awful on many levels. It’s a terrible feeling to hear that crash and then the seizure sounds…to run to him not knowing what you will find…to wonder how hard he hit his head or if there are other injuries.
We had untangled him from the shower curtain and from his twisted shirt that was all around both his arms and hands. Gary put a sweater over him and then we just had to let him lay there in the tub until he was awake enough to be moved to his bed.
I went back to my desk, still shaken, and cried. I cried out of fear, yes, but mostly I cried because it makes me so incredibly sad to see my son go through all these physical hurts.
But as I sat there, God softly spoke into my hurting heart…and He reminded me of those words that He had given me two hours earlier. God gave me words I needed before I knew just how much I would soon need them.
Yes, my heart is so tender when I think of Aaron and all the years of his physical suffering. But God really does take that mama hurt I feel and uses it to show me how to toughly trust in Him.
I have to be tough for Aaron, and really, I can only do that because of my trust in God. Sometimes that sort of trust doesn’t come naturally. It would be more natural for me to be mad at God for letting this happen to Aaron, over and over and over.
But I know my heavenly Father, and I know that He has reasons far beyond what I will ever know on this earth for why He lets Aaron suffer.
It’s a tough place for me to be and it calls for a tough trust. If my life was only smooth and simple, no tough trust would be needed. But then I would not know God as deeply. I would not experience His peace and comfort. My faith would stay simple and small.
A verse also came to my mind as I sat there thinking of all these matters. I want to leave that verse with you…that simple but profound word from God.
I was on our patio the other morning, enjoying the cool air and stillness before I had to start another busy day. It’s nice to see and to hear squirrels rustling through the branches of nearby trees, or to hear the sweet chirps of our many cardinals, or the whir of a hummingbird’s wings.
But soon, way up in the top of our huge oak tree, came the loud squawking of a Blue Jay.
His voice soon overtook all the others. I had to make myself listen carefully in order to hear the quieter, more pleasant birds that were still there but were being drowned out by the shrill voice of that Blue Jay.
What a picture of my life lately! Satan knows exactly when to yell in my ear, reminding me more of what I don’t have than what I do have. He knows when I am vulnerable…when I am more susceptible to letting him drown out God’s voice.
It’s easy to cave and listen only to his discouraging yells…to let him make me question God’s past leading in our lives.
“Are you sure it was God’s will for you to move here?”
“Too bad you can’t re-do some of your parenting.”
“Look at what they have that you don’t have.”
“Well, that hasn’t turned out like you thought it would.”
I’ve had to make myself stop hearing that very loud voice and instead focus on God’s quieter voice, just like Elijah did. Elijah, in I Kings 19, was just coming off the high of tremendous victory. He ended up physically and emotionally drained…vulnerable to Satan’s attacks of discouragement and depression.
He ended up in a cave, where God told him to stand on a nearby mountain. “And behold, the Lord was passing by!”
First there was a strong wind, but the Lord was not in the wind.
Then an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
A fire was next, but still the Lord was not in the fire.
Finally, there was the sound of a gentle blowing…a low whisper.
And God spoke to Elijah in that soft whisper of a faint breeze.
Over the past couple weeks, I have had to make myself NOT listen to the loud voices of doubt and questioning. I have had to discipline my thoughts to remember the past leading of God.
I was trusting God in the past, and He led me…He led us…to where we are. Why doubt Him now?
Did I trust Him then? Then how can I doubt Him now?
It’s a conscious choice I must make. Do I let the loud voice of doubt crowd out the small yet firm voice of God?
At the end of the day, may I choose to listen carefully to the right voice in my heart and not the loudest.
Last Friday when I went into Aaron’s room to wake him up and get him going for the day, I knew that something was off. Sure enough, Aaron’s bed was soaked. He had a seizure the day before, but I hadn’t heard one that previous night, so maybe he just drank too much water before bed. Thoughts of that continuing issue with the amount of water he drinks made me a little irritated.
So did the fact that because of so many other things going on…and now tons of laundry to do…I had to cancel lunch plans with a friend I hadn’t seen in forever. This was our second time to cancel. GRRRR!
But I’ve learned to look at the positives at times like that. I have a washer and dryer, and they work. I have the time and freedom to change my day around. And now Aaron’s bedding would be totally clean and fresh. Every single bit of it…from the mattress pad up! Oh, and I am ALWAYS very thankful for a super heavy duty and trustworthy waterproof mattress pad! Am I ever!
The rest of our day went as planned. I picked Aaron up from his day group, we went to Wal-Mart, got subs for supper, watched a qualifying run of NHRA racing, and had a nice time with all of it.
Later, not long before I was going to get Aaron from his room so we could watch a Walton’s episode, I heard a thump. I was sure it was from his room. I heard him walking so I knew it wasn’t him. Soon he was in the family room, looking at me with some hesitation on his face.
“Mom?” he asked in a measured tone. “Can you come to my room? I need to show you something.”
I was comfortable on the couch. It was nearing 8:30. I was winding down physically and mentally. I was in no mood to go to his room and probably look at something on his computer that he just HAD to show me.
“Aaron, I don’t want to go up to your room right now. Let’s just watch The Waltons,” I countered.
“No, Mom!” he insisted, “I need you to come up to my room now!”
Then I remembered the thump.
“Aaron,” I began with more calm than I felt. “Did you break something?”
“Yes!!” he answered. “It was my lava lamp!”
Now, you must understand that this was not just any lava lamp. This was a GLITTER lava lamp.
I was such a good mom at that moment.
“OH AARON!!! YOU DIDN’T!!!!” I not-so-calmly replied.
I did not want to walk up those stairs.
I did not want to walk in his room.
I did not want to see what I soon saw.
There, on the floor beside his bed and under his bed was thick blue oozing goo.
And not just any goo.
It was thick blue oozing GLITTERY goo!!
Let me tell you, I groaned and I huffed and I puffed and I complained the whole entire time I was cleaning up that awful mess.
Poor Aaron wanted to help but there wasn’t much he could do. I knew that there wasn’t room for both me and Gary to be in there working so I didn’t even tell him what was going on. I just continued to bluster and blow as I sopped up the thick mess with a couple of old beach towels. I even told Aaron to just throw them away. I didn’t want eternal glitter in my washing machine!!
My washing machine, which had been running a good part of the day already as I cleaned up Aaron’s OTHER big mess!!
Oh, how my mind was working! Poor me!! My life is all about overseeing and cleaning up one thing after another! Boo-hoo-hoo!!
But I looked up from where I was kneeling on the floor trying to shine a flashlight under the bed so I could see sparkly goopy glitter hiding out…and there was Aaron sitting cross legged on the bed, telling me over and over that he was sorry.
Wanting more than anything to DO anything to help me.
My heart kinda broke for him and I felt such empathy for him.
That’s grace…not the kind that I can create, but the kind that God puts in my heart for this special son who can surely push my buttons but pull my heart strings at the same time.
Later, after all the clean up and after the Walton’s was watched…as we got Aaron’s bedtime routine completed…a storm rolled in. If there is one thing that Aaron absolutely loves, it’s a storm.
“Mom!! Do you think I should keep my blinds open?”
I told him yes and to enjoy the lightning. I was going to bed, finally, and that is all I wanted to do.
But that’s not all that Aaron wanted me to do.
“MOM! Come look at the lightning! It’s BRIGHT!!”
Soooo, I stifled my huge sigh and walked once more into the room that twice already that day held so much frustration for me.
I stood at Aaron’s windows for a minute and soon there it was…FLASH!! Bright lightning, followed by Aaron exclaiming, “Did you see that, Mom??!!”
I sat on the end of Aaron’s bed and immediately he threw back his covers. In another flash, he was right beside me, and there we sat watching the impressive light show, brought to us by God.
And I was ever so thankful for God’s grace in that moment. Grace from Him to me and Aaron in the form of such bright beauty out that window.
Grace to have my tired mind and body refreshed as I sat there enjoying all the sights and sounds of a good Kansas thunderstorm.
Grace to forget the messy day and to focus on happy Aaron.
Messy grace.
God extends that kind of grace to me every single day.
How can I not also extend it to Aaron in the midst of dirty bedding and glittery lava lamp mess?
Thank you for Your grace in all my messy places, God.
And thank You for giving me the grace to show Your grace to Aaron.
However, I do not believe I will be buying another glitter lava lamp. 😁😁
During our trip to the Houston area last month, we noticed that the palm trees looked different. One normally expects palm trees to resemble these:
But instead, this is what we saw.
I stood there staring as I snapped this picture. The trees looked both silly and sad.
“Bless your hearts,” I wanted to say. I am from the south, you know.
Andrea explained what had happened. The prolonged deep freeze this past February had taken quite a toll on the palm trees. Many were irreparably damaged…dead.
I have read a little about the palm trees and found out that one way you can tell if a palm is dead is to scratch a section of bark off the tree. If there is green underneath, then the palm is alive.
These sad looking palms we saw were, despite their damage, alive. We could tell by the growth on top, odd as they might have looked.
This past Sunday at church we were privileged to listen to a live interview between our pastor and a prominent businessman from our city. Britt Fulmer discussed his cancer journey. Unless God works a miracle, there is nothing humanly possible that can be done for him. Again, barring a miracle, heaven might soon be a reality for Britt.
Yet I walked away from that service full of hope and praise. That is because Britt was full of hope and praise. He conveyed, through his rather frail voice, the strength OF God because of his total trust IN God. There was no anger, no regret, and definitely no fear as he confidently gave testimony of his total trust in God’s plan for him in this trial. In fact, Britt has grown during his hard bout with cancer.
I think of so many I know who are battered from life’s prolonged adversities. One can look at them and see the damage in various ways in their lives. It reminds me of those palm trees.
But you know what? Those palm trees are still standing, despite showing the stress of the freeze they endured.
And they’re growing! If we scraped off a section of their bark, we would see green underneath.
Life is there!
Roots run deep!
James talked to believers about trials.
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials; knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1: 2-4)
That word “consider” means to make a judgment. We have a choice to make when we encounter various…multi-colored…trials in this life. Are we going to allow God to work in our lives the endurance that He desires? That endurance is the act of abiding under the difficulties.
Will we abide under the prolonged pain in our lives, whatever it may be? Because if we choose to do that…to abide under the suffering…we are really abiding under the shadow of the Almighty Who has our best interests and His glory in mind.
To abide means to endure without yielding.
So, to endure means to abide…and abide means to endure.
It means I stay put in the place God has put me, even if He has put me under suffering.
I don’t yield to unbelief. I don’t give in to giving up on God.
Instead, I allow endurance under the hardships to produce in me a maturity and growth that is evident to everyone around me. But I can’t produce that growth myself. Only God can grow me in that way as I abide in Him, fully trusting His plan for me.
Suffering hurts, no doubt about it. Long-term suffering takes a toll.
But what will others see in me beyond the damage?
Will they see growth, even if I feel like it’s just a little bit?
Is there green under my bark?
Oh God, grow us in our prolonged sufferings so that You will be honored and others will be amazed at what You have done!
Today after church, Gary and I went to lunch with our sweet friends, Phil and Lydia. Phil is a business owner, and also a farmer. They were talking about wheat harvest, which is happening now.
Aaron has been loving a new game, Farm Simulator, so I asked if maybe we could come out and look at the farm.
“Sure!” Phil said. “Aaron can ride with me on the combine.”
That was so much more than I expected! How exciting!
Lydia picked me and Aaron up later, and off we went, headed west. The golden waves of Kansas grain are so beautiful right now. All along the way, here and there, we could see the combines out in the fields harvesting the wheat.
We got to the field, and soon there came Phil. As he emptied some wheat, Aaron followed him to the combine.
Soon he was climbing the ladder.
And off they went!
How fun to watch that huge combine do its job! And to know that Aaron was sitting up there!
What a fun day for Aaron!
Thank you, Phil and Lydia, for being so kind and for giving Aaron another first-time and exciting experience.
I want to wind up my tales of our Texas trip with this blog…I hope. This doesn’t need to drag on for weeks! 😊
I told about the Aquarium Pyramid in Galveston in my last blog. A few days after that adventure, we went back to Galveston to go see the Rainforest Pyramid. These are such unique buildings!
Aaron loved the Rainforest as well, although he wasn’t over the moon excited like he was in the aquarium. Still, it was great fun to see all sorts of rainforest birds:
Flowers:
Fish:
And when I turned around, it was not such great fun to see Aaron’s hand stretched out toward this cute little monkey and see the monkey holding Aaron’s finger!! Actually, it was adorable, but we knew he wasn’t supposed to touch the animals. And then he told a worker about his fun moment, and he got a nice lecture. 😊
It was another wonderful day for all of us.
And ended with supper at Skipper’s.
I wanted to also share a few of the sweet family moments that made this trip extra special.
Our son, Andrew, was in town for an NHRA race. He lives near Indianapolis where the teams are located, and he travels all over, so we don’t see him nearly enough. We usually go to the Houston race but the chance of the race being cancelled due to COVID kept us from buying tickets this year. Here is a shot of what he does – he’s in the center, starting the top fuel car.
He was able to come over to Andrea and Kyle’s house for an evening. It was so wonderful to all be together for the first time since I don’t know when.
We took a picture that’s not the greatest quality but still shows the greatest time together. And look at Aaron! 😊
Another sweet moment was playing Skip-Bo with Andrea. Aaron keeps a notebook record of who wins each game when he and I play.
But as we played with Andrea, Aaron REALLY wanted her to win. He watched her cards carefully and would purposely not play his if it meant she could play hers instead. Therefore, she won the game and Aaron was thrilled! He had already gotten a piece of paper and very happily gave her a column with her first win mark. It was just precious!
Kyle promised to play catch outside with Aaron on Saturday, but it poured rain all day. Therefore, Kyle grabbed some soft dog toys and played catch with Aaron inside, which tickled Aaron to pieces.
Aaron had lots of quality doggie time, which he loved…and so did the dogs (for the most part!). They certainly knew where to go to have a treat slipped to them!
On the morning we left to go home, Aaron was all packed up and ready to hit the road.
Aaron: I’m sad to leave Andrea.
Me: So you’ll want to come back again and see her?
Aaron: Nah.
😆😆
But he did worry all the way home about leaving her and whether she was lonely. We didn’t tell him that she might have been enjoying the quiet.
So, again, I want to thank all of you that were praying for us on this vacation. This trip truly was the best ever with Aaron, and we are very sure it was due to all the prayers from all of you. Thank you so, so much!
And thank you for reading about our fun times and all the sweet memories made.
In my previous blog, I shared with you some of the difficulties Aaron had as we went to Texas to see our other children. Kyle and Andrea live just east of Houston, and our son Andrew was going to be in town there for an NHRA race – he works for one of the teams.
Aaron loves talking to his siblings on the phone. He could go on for hours, literally, talking about all his interests. But suddenly the idea of actually being with them was not so appealing. It’s the traveling and leaving his comfort zone that he simply cannot handle.
We all know Aaron very well and have come to expect his anger when his world is upended. During Christmas, we refer to Aaron’s Annual Christmas Meltdown as we know it will inevitably occur. So on this week of vacation and visiting, we were fully expecting Aaron’s Annual Vacation Meltdown.
We started our week off in a safe mode, doing something Aaron loves – shopping! He was happy to go to Sam’s with me and Andrea, carting home extra goodies that he chose. He was more relaxed and happy that day, until we told him that the next day we were going to the Aquarium Pyramid in Galveston.
His discomfort level rose as he contemplated tackling one more unfamiliar place. But when we showed him a video of some of the displays there, his interest overcame his doubt. And oh my goodness, what a day we had!
The building itself is beautiful:
And once inside, Aaron was beside himself excited! He loved every single minute. Everyone nearby heard and saw his joy as he laughed and pointed and talked up a storm. The day was truly delightful. Here are some pictures.
Near the entrance, with Gary and Andrea:
He LOVED the penguins: 🙂 🙂
The tunnel was amazing:
He got to pet the Manta Rays, but the first time he bent over in a deeper area he started to fall in the water! He would have totally fallen in had Gary and I not grabbed him. His soaking wet shirt and shorts didn’t bother him in the least. We went up to a safer place and he carried on while Gary and I held on…to HIM!
A visit to the gift shop ended with us buying Aaron a stuffed penguin he wanted. On the way out of the aquarium, we passed one more penguin display, where Aaron showed the live penguins his stuffed penguin. The reaction of the one of the penguins, and of Aaron, was priceless.
He Said What?! 