Holidays November 18, 2009

Thanksgiving is almost here and then Christmas for us. And I am torn with how to put this both nicely and without offending or hurting anyone’s feelings. I love my family and I love to spend time with them. I enjoy the big gatherings with the big sit down meals for twenty and the chaos it brings. Ten people hovering in the kitchen over the stove to get a whiff of the meal to come and driving the cook of the day bananas. Eating myself silly with the one time a year holiday favorites is just plain great. I don’t really care about gifts, except giving them. I enjoy the company and the conversation. But for my son I can only imagine it is like nails down a chalk board. It is everything I try to avoid and schedule around for him on a day to day basis so that we can get through a day without a meltdown or tantrum. I take him to parks, museums, stores and anything and anywhere else when I know that there will be no one there. On Sunday mornings we are there first one there when the indoor playground opens at 9am and the first ones to leave at 10am when it starts getting busy. I don’t if at all possible, take him to the grocery store. And some stores we can’t even go into because he is scared to. Or we have to ease him. And always always it is a two person job to go anywhere.