News Story - Airlines grounds crew

I wanted to share this news story about a family who was traveling and denied travel arrangements because of what seemed like discrimination or just pure ignorance on the part of the airline crew members. Something as easy as switching a seat for a special needs person could not be accommodated for whatever reason is disheartening. It still amazes me how people are still so ignorant and how call ace they can be. 

Read the story and see what you think. I for one, was taken back. 

https://apple.news/AKynpk2p4T8yDrQr_b50Cwg

Check out day

  

It was our last day and we planned to make the best of it. The night before we told the kids the plan. As soon as we woke up we were to get in our beach where and head out to the beach for one hour followed by the pool for another hour. This would give us enough time to go back to room, wash up and clear out. Plan ago. We were up early, as usual, so we headed out to the beach as planned with the kids and sand buckets. 

Things were going well. The beach was fairly empty still and the kids were having great fun. E had seemed to learn to stay closer to the shore line after a wave toppled him over yesterday. He mostly played with the sand trying to build a mote. N was flopping around in the water still looking for shells, lava rocks and bits or coral. My daughter was in her glory playing with two little babies digging in the sand. Everything was calm and all appeared to be happy.

Then, without warning E took off down the beach. I called for him to turn back but he didn’t listen. He just kept running following the shore line, so at this point I now had to become an Olympic sprinter and start after him. Gosh, it is terribly difficult running in sand and my feet are torn up from all the broken seashells I stepped on during the chase. Finally, I grab him. Thankfully, he gets to close to the water and a wave hits him and slows him down. After I catch my breath, while still holding him, I ask him “Why did you run away?” He just looked at me and laughed “I was going on an adventure.” I began to tell him about the dangers of running into the ocean alone. That he doesn’t know how to swim and if something happened maybe we wouldn’t be able to help him. I asked him “what happens if you go in the water and you can’t swim? He replied “I would drown.”  So he gets it but why he doesn’t follow the rules is beyond me. My husband says he is fearless and it’s true but he is also wreck-less. Then again, he is only 6. We left the beach after this. I was done.

As I played in the pool with the kids, I thought about what could have set him off on his run. He doesn’t like the sand feeling, the birds were flying over, the crowd was starting to grow and there were more voices near by, the crashing of the waves, the wind was blowing and his sister was screeching.  That couldn’t of been it because he said he was “going on an adventure.” He may possibly have an ear infection again, those often make him unsettled. Or maybe he just felt like running. Though he is improving, E’s explications are never solid, so I may never know.

I see parents lounging back on beach chairs and their kids playing nice on the beach. Staying close or

Sprinting position

constantly checking in while their parents read or close their eyes. Their is a trust their and a level of comfort we do not have with our kids. I was able to do it with N and EM more this trip but E just kept me up on guard. Seeing this often makes me question the type of parent I am. Maybe I’m not as good as those parents. That I’m not doing something right. Then I brush away those negative thoughts and move on. I watched as he played in the sand. He was content but always looked like he was prepared to sprint off at any given moment. Which he did end up doing. It must be nice to sit back like that, enjoy the sounds of the beach and just be in a relaxed state. Those parents don’t realize how lucky they are to have those moments come easy. I long for that day. I believe it will come but with a great deal of hard work on our end. Well worth it if we can get him their.

There were a few outbursts in the car and likely from being locked down for so long. Despite some of the stresses of the trip, overall, we had a great trip. The kids were happy and we were happy to give them this experience. The more we expose them to things, the better their chances are of having a full and happy life that prepares them for the real world because the real world is rough.

We are blessed for sure.

With love and dedication anything is possible!

Ask and you shall receive

Remember how a couple of posts back I was joking about needing to get away. Well, ask and you shall receive. My husband surprised me with an impromptu vacation. It’s really more like a trip because of the time constraints and because a vacation for me would be without the kids. 

Traveling with the kids is rough. First they never stop asking the famous “Are we there yet?” They NEVER go to the bathroom at the same time, and one wants the radio on while the other wants it off. It’s too cold, It’s too hot. I think you get it. My daughter loves to sing in a high pitch operatic voice that reminds me of the movie where Meryl Streep portrays a woman described as the worst opera singer of all time. Now, don’t get me wrong, when my daughter sings in her normal sweet voice, she sounds like an angel. Lately, I think she has been exploring pitch and she is way high, to the point of piercing. As I write this, she is testing out her sounds. Fun! Do we discourage this? No. I want her to sing even if she sometimes hits a sour note or two. It’s my reminder that she is happy and that my ears are functioning. 

Finally, we made it to Myrtle Beach but still had another 30 minutes to get our hotel. So we took the kids to to a great little park called Savannah’s Playground to burn off some energy. It had your typical playground equipment but other cool stuff. Most importantly it had a six foot fence around it. It’s probably one of the first parks I ever felt comfortable going to. It had some really cool slides and a zip line for the kids. The kids loved it. E was in his element. The park is known as a great sensory park for special needs kids but is open for all. And then...

We went to the hotel where E went nuts. The kids were already excited about being at the beach and that the hotel had its own water park. E was over-the-top. His enthusiasm could not be contained. He was opening and slamming draws and cabinet doors. Screaming with joy because the hotel room had it’s own spoons and toaster. So as we changed clothes for the water park, I began to realize that this could potentially go south fast but I wanted to be optimistic and have fun. My goal was to be calm mom and not get anxious. We were fine up until we walked on to the water park grounds. The minute he saw the giant slide his eyes opened wide as did mine but for very different reasons. He was thinking that thing is going to be amazing. My thoughts were more along the lines of this 20 foot slide is going to be the cause of my aneurysm. I chased up the later with him and tried to seem excited. When we reached the top I was still hopeful that the man would tell us your too short. Took the measurements and I wasn’t so lucky. E sits on the slide and pushes himself. Sitting up instead of laying flat on his back, he takes the first curve and nearly flips out of the tube. Then he is flipped backwards and I saw a glimmer of panic in his eye but he hits another turn, where he flips again and it turns him around, then splash. He loves it! Meanwhile I am a horrible anxious mess thinking that I could have lost him on that first curve. He didn’t care, he wanted to do it again.

So needless to say I am extremely stressed out at this point. I figure if we could just get him in the pool and keep him there, I might be able to salvage this trip. N keeps swimming over to me to check on me because he “Don’t like how your face looks right now Mama. I’m worried for you.” I try to reassure him, but I know he is right. Because what I was feeling was straight anxiety over lack of control. Truthfully, it was my lack of control over E. I could see the park was having its affects on him. When my husband held his hand to get his attention and remind him of the rules. His legs looked like they want to leave his body and walk away with out him. He was on sensory overload. I knew I needed to get him in a quiet place but he was also trying to have his best version of fun. It just involved him running in and out of pool or at some points, jumping into shallow pools including a jacuzzi. I was so done. I wanted to scream DONE and leave. Not an option, I still had the other two who were having fun. So I stuck with it with the hopes that eventually he would even out and he did.

We finally got to a place where we were all in the same place and wanted to stay there. From there I started to feel my chest relax and i was able to take control of my breathes again. Though the start was challenging, it ended on a high note. Not to say that anxiety isn't the captain of my ship, it is still in control. While he sleeps all I can think about is how to keep him from the balcony or oven, I might then be able to go to sleep.

Still a day and a half to go, so lets see what tomorrow brings. For now, we are all curled up, and i’m Doing my best to appreciate the good parts of the day.

We are blessed for sure.

With love and dedication anything is possible!