Before getting on with my post, just a reminder that we’d love to help Saving Gabriel as part of celebrating J’s birthday this month. You can learn more about Gabriel and his soldier Jake’s story here: https://www.jbearandme.com/pay-it-forward-saving-gabriel/
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Today we had a family dinner we went to (Happy 60th, Cheryl!) and situations in restaurants like this often involve a lot of preparation. I talk to Jacob a lot about what’s going to happen, who we are going to see, what we are going to do and what we might say to one another. One part of this preparation involves asking him questions and asking him what he’d say when asked certain things.
Me: “Jacob, what will you say you are? Will you say you’re happy?”
J: “No.”
Me: “Will you say you are three?”
J: “No”
Me: “Well what will you say you are?”
J: “Jacob is Jacob!”
…. Okay I could not make this stuff up. He said it matter of fact, like “duh, woman”. That was it. End of discussion. Jacob is Jacob, and there was no better answer to any question about him than that.
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It’s been a very tough week. Meltdowns have happened nearly daily and they have been fierce. Today, though, was good. No meltdowns. Two visits to the Zakim Bridge.
Have I mentioned his obsession?
The Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge is a beautiful feature on the Boston skyline and is a bridge we have to travel over to get south of the city on 93. J is utterly fixated by this bridge and anything that has similar features to this cable stay bridge, be they my shoes, a toy dinosaur… Anything with similar angles and features is immediately dubbed a bridge. It is his most favorite stim.
For months I could not figure out why, despite whatever supports I used, I could not take him on the highway south to get home from places we’d go out to. He knows, incredibly well, which roads take us onto the highway in the direction we need to get to his bridge. He knows we cannot turn off any exit before a certain point or we’ll not be going to the bridge. This kid misses nothing. It’s amazing and overwhelming at times.
It’s just a relief now to know that’s what he want so we can work on compromises. I’d take him over the bridge every day if traffic weren’t frequently so appalling. Such as it is, pictures shall have to do but for days we have business that brings us that way.
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So this is life right now. Nothing huge and exciting to write about. Awaiting some resolution with the cruise line so I can write about our experiences more in detail and hopefully be able to say that they’re going to work towards fixing things so that no one has to feel as we did. Giving them another week or so to respond before I start just getting a little loud.