Hello Friday!

 It’s Friday! 

Finally Friday! I used to think that we all equally anticipated Fridays, but I don’t think anyone in the house appreciates them more than Bradley does. Thing is though, he doesn’t truly understand the concept. But he absolutely understands and appreciates the joy of waking up on Saturday and Sunday and not being processed through the school routine. He certainly starts to feel it towards the end of the week. 

I would say that Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days of the week for the whole routine process. Monday is a shock, like every week! Tuesdays are a toss up, he sometimes is cool with it and sometimes not. I have to walk his stuff out and set it on the sidewalk, Bradley usually follows me out the door at that point. When he is struggling, this is my second to last tactic to get him to comply with me needing him outside for the bus. My last shot is giving him a cookie once he gets all of his school routine done, that usually works to get him to finish up. If we’re early, these are the let’s go outside and sit on the step days. 

Wednesday is usually okay, he’s willing to come out and eat his breakfast and then he’s usually ready to go out and sit and wait for the bus. 

Thursday he is settled into the routine and walking from one step to the next. He isn’t happy about doing any of it - more like he is resigned to it happening. Everything gets done at a slower pace, he’s tired and actually will climb into my lap to wait. Yesterday, he dropped his head and took a small nap, but on Thursday’s, we don’t usually sit outside to wait.  

Friday. Friday is a rough one. By Friday, Bradley is absolutely done with this whole routine and the continued need to keep going outside and getting on that bus. These are the biggest fights and require the most finesse to get Bradley taken care of, dressed, fed and have all his stuff together and done to get to the bus  on time. 

Luckily, today the bus was a little early this morning. Considering we were at the end of my ability to eek the last of his compliance from him I was able to walk him straight out to the bus. 

The good news, every afternoon my boy gets off the bus with a big grin and is happy to see me. His book tells me that most days he has a great day too. If Incan get him to stop fixating on the Speech iPad for the picture taking, we might have more peaceful afternoons. He knows it’s in his school backpack and he tries to race me to get to it before I can get it and whisk it away. The imagery is funny and the events are relatively humorous most days. Sadly at least one day this week he didn’t agree with me at all and we had a horrible melting that led to couch time with a weighted blanket and mom until things settled down inside of his little head and he could regulate life again. It wasn’t the best afternoon, but he was calmer and back to his usual self. No potty accidents, are a complete and full dinner and had no issues with bedtime. A melt and a remold, sometimes that all we need. Bradley’s sweet brain just makes his world implode and everything stops until it can start again. Us adults that are supposed to have it all together, we don’t get to melt and then remold unless we do it privately or are willing to risk public ridicule and judgement. I’m sure Bradley would face the same if/when these things happen in the public eye, but out there it is irrelevant to me what others are thinking, saying or seeing - his needs in those moments will be the only ones that matter. And honestly, people expect it of him, which makes me so very sad for him, especially as we haven’t had one of these meltings happen in public. But life is ever changing and overwhelming in its intensity - I’m sure it’ll be coming. 

For now, we’re just going to work on getting through each week… especially the occasional overwhelming afternoons. 

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