He Listened!

Working on today’s blog in between sets at tonight’s Volleyball game, cause life may stutter step for us, but it rarely slows down.  Dad is home taking care of our sick little guy and so I am here to keep cheering the girls on for this volleyball thing.  Divide and conquer...or something like that.  Sadly, our girls fell short, but Sydney played great and Madison also caught some play time with an excellent hit.  So that was pretty darn cool too.

Bradley is still sporting a fever but the raccoon eyed mask that he was sporting continues to fade, though it is still rough to look at his sweet face and know how hard this is for him.  But he’s a trooper all the same.  The only part that has been slightly appealing these last five days is the amount of cuddling he still likes to have when he is sick.  It’s always nice to know that when you’re kiddo is sick, that they still find their comfort in you.  And when they are busy growing up and growing away from you trying to become independent- the reminder is nice, but it would be better to not go through the illness parts.

Bradley is delayed in his development.  So we are slowly getting where we need to go, not glacier speed, but definitely can give a tortoise a good chance of beating us if we were to race.  Speech is an area of course, and probably because of all his medications and medical issues, he isn’t potty trained as yet.  We try every time we get a long break, but there is just something missing in his making the connection for having to go, to going.  I mostly believe that this is going to happen...but I also kind of still believe in the reason for Santa.  I mean I believe in God and though I admire his work and see his touch in most things - I’ve never met him or seen his face...so who’s to say about that Santa fellow?  Either way, my leanings towards the world of fantasy are not the discussion here tonight.  For the most part, I believe that Bradley will someday be potty trained.  On that day there will be great celebration and potentially a party at our house.  😁

So yeah, things come slowly...but as I was talking about making connections, there is a great joy in watching that moment when he makes that connection.  So let me tell you a story about that one victory in this long battle of Bradley learning how life is connected.

I drive a Chryseler Pacifica because we finally conceded that with three kids quickly surpassing their mother in height, we really needed more room.  A perk of the van is that there is a built in entertainment system with screens on the back of both the front seats.  So Bradley can watch a movie, and since they come with headphones, he can listen with his headphones and not drive me crazier than I already am.  Bradley also sits in a car seat still.  He’s only 56 pounds; maybe less after this illness, so he really needs the protection.  He still sits in a five point harness because anything less and he is out of it and messing around in the van while I am driving.  As it is, he will sometimes try to squirm his way out of his harness belts.

The other day, Bradley figured out that he is big enough that now he can reach down and loosen the straps by pulling on the lever.  Loosened straps and he is pulling his arms out and trying to push himself out of the seat.  Not fun when I am driving down the road, panic inducing when I am on the highway.  The girls help force him back in when they are with me, but the other day it was just him and me.  Talk about a showdown!  I yelled at him to get back into his seatbelt and he stared back at me like I had two heads.

Angry, I reach back and shut down his screen.  I’ll show him!  What does he do?  Become even more dangerous as he leans forward in his seat and reopens the shutttered screen.  So I am left to fuss and fume, looking for a place to pull over.  But then it dawns on me, I have control of the whole system. So I reach over and turn off the power to the screens. And I tell him, “No seatbelt, no movies.”

I’m still angry and looking for somewhere to pull over, but I notice movement in the rear view mirror.  And as I watch, he carefully puts himself back into his five point harness and sits back in his car seat. He and I make eye contact in my mirror for a second (that seems like a lifetime) and I tell him “Thank you.  I’ll turn your movie back on.”  And I power it all back up, he has his headphones on and goes right back to watching his movie, and  he doesn’t try to squirm out of his harness for the remainder of the trip.

I was stunned and so excited, I shared his story with all of his therapists and his teacher.  And now with all of you.  There’s just something so special about a moment when you get to be present when you see your little one understand.  I still put the regular seatbelt over the five point harness - to keep him safe AND because I’m not crazy.  Overall, we do have less escape attempts.

So yeah, an exciting moment amongst the many moments that make up our life with Bradley.  And a win for momma for sure - though we all know keeping Bradley safe is the greatest win of all...

It’s late and time to chase Bradley to sleep and hope for less time together in the middle of the night. Closing out the 31 For 21 Blog Challenge For Acceptance and Awareness.  Have a great night.  See you all tomorrow!