A Good Day

Yesterday (January 12, 2011) was quite a special day.  From the moment Puppy woke up to the moment he went to bed.

Why you ask?  It was special because my son had a “good day”.   I know you’ve heard that children with disabilities or any child for that matter, have good days and bad days; this was Puppy having a “good day”.

I woke up Puppy around 6:15 A.M. to allow him time to stretch before having to get out of his warm bed to take a shower.  This is not his norm, he usually showers before bedtime.  But he said he was tired the night before and asked for the chance to try something different.  His average mornings begin at 7:00 A.M. to allow enough time for him to dress himself slowly and follow through with his pre-school routine. 

So the wakeup call goes smoothly.  He opens his eyes and although he turns and pulls blankets over his head, he grunts to me that he is awake.  It only took about two more visits into his room to get his attention and get him going to take his shower, no complaints.

Showering and dressing himself went effortlessly.  I was downstairs having my “me” time, finishing my breakfast.  He came downstairs and was in such a good mood and wide awake that his request for pancakes was difficult to refuse.  So there I was, making my son pancakes before I returned to get myself dressed and ready for work.  He was humming and squeaking and just so happy to be having his favorite food.  I should have taken a picture.

After breakfast, Puppy had one more request. “Please send teacher a note that I will keep my wallet in my pocket and I will behave.”  He’s routine is to arrive at the classroom, hang up his backpack at the entrance and place the wallet in the backpack.  Allowing him to keep it on his person is distracting to him because it’s his obsession.  So I made the note and reinforced to Puppy that the teacher has the last word and she makes the rules in the classroom.  The teacher may still say to put the wallet away and he will have to follow her instructions.  (Footnote to a prior posting "A Long Weekend":  Both Puppy and his teacher were in a hurry to make the bus at the end of the day on the previous Friday, and this was the reason his wallet was not returned to him to have over the weekend.  The teacher and I talked about this and she apologized for the oversight.)

Finally, the bus arrived and he was on his way to school, happy as can be.  I received a text from his teacher after lunchtime.  She said he was doing great and was handling having the wallet in his pocket very well.  I can only assume the remainder of the school day went equally well.

My sister was also headed home after work and as we spoke on the cell phone, she mentioned she was closer to the daycare than I was, and offered to pick up Puppy.  Keep in mind that this is the same sister that Puppy cannot stop repeating her name.  However, it worked out pretty good because I was tired from work myself and welcomed the time to unwind.   They got home and Puppy was in a pleasant mood, even asked me to help him with homework.  I didn’t want to interrupt the moment so we went right to it.  My sister said they took a detour to the store at the strip on the way home, picked up a few items and added that Puppy didn’t ask for a thing (another surprise).

We fixed supper, ate, and after sitting at the computer for a while…Puppy announced he was headed to take a shower and then it was bedtime.  Everything was just falling into place, one step at a time.  All was done and Puppy was in bed.  I enjoy going into his room while he’s sleeping and I check his blankets and stuffed toys, make sure his wallet is under the pillow, give him a kiss and wish only sweet dreams for him.

It was a “good day”.

Claire