Blazing summer heat intensified the smell looming from neighborhood
bar-b-ques and July wild raspberries ready for picking. Classic signs
of impending Independence Day celebrations to come. I never fully know
how far to plan our Fourth of July activities since Noah's sensory
challenges vary and can be unpredictable. Yet, with summer in full
swing, I can't help but want to absorb that feeling of bar-b-ques,
picnics and evening fireworks. I decorated the kitchen table with a
disposable stars and stripes tablecloth and adorned with a handful of
red, white and blue napkins and paper plates. Luke and Noah in matching
flag shirts, ready to celebrate the day.
Ironically Noah lost his fourth tooth the evening of July 2nd, just
in time for the 4th of July. He went to reach for a toy and his strong
athetoid movements caused his arm to jerk back and he hit himself in the
face knocking it out. It had been very lose but not lose enough for us
to pull. We both were relieved that Noah didn't swallow this tooth.
The search for his 3rd and swallowed tooth was called off after seven
whole days of searching. I never imagined that I'd be mashing feces in
an attempt to locate it, yet the mother in me really wanted a full
collection of my child's baby teeth. I suppose I would have made a
terrible gold miner as I failed to locate that teeny speck of white.
Given the track record of special need children who frequently
swallow their teeth, I have to accept that three out of four isn't bad
considering the challenge of a child who cannot put their hands in their
mouth to wiggle out their own teeth. Noah left a tooth fairy note to
explain the loss of his third tooth and the tooth fairy still left him
money. She must have been feeling particularly bad for him as she
increased the amount for his 4th tooth to two dollars. Noah beamed with
delight over the financial increase. Let's hope this is motivation to
prevent him from swallowing any more.
It certainly is different looking at Noah with a new smile. His
smile always particularly precious, now has a new character about it.
And it feels like a piece of his childhood is fleeing and I miss the
days of yesterday. Common feelings of motherhood for all mothers.
Yet, we can't remain frozen in time and while Noah doesn't blossom in
milestones, he certainly grows and thrives in a variety of other ways
that tells my heart he's growing up.
Noah's grandparents smoked brisket and ribs, and I attempted my own
smoking of salmon for the first time. I'm trying to branch out and try
new things. I often get so comfortable in this comfort zone I create
for myself that I never leave the boundaries of what I've familiarized
myself with. The salmon was a good first effort, but perhaps I added
too much salt for the brine and I certainly will consider that more
brown sugar the next go round is essential. Noah found his blend of smoked bar-b-que and potato salad delicious and
was only moderately found of his pureed fruit salad. Of course he loved
his cheesecake finale. The child with a perpetual sweet tooth.
Noah doesn't do well in regulating body temperature. Extreme heat
and cold is problematic and always has been. Upon the recommendation of
other special needs parents we purchased Noah a Water Mat from Walmart
for $19. Was probably the best $19 I've spent all summer. It's like
having an 8x5 play waterbed type area for Noah to roll around in and
offers the a cool soothing comfort from the cold hose water. And the
really great part is both children like being together which gives them
an opportunity and way to play together. It's really a super cool
product that I wish I would have found years ago for Noah. Now I have
to hope it doesn't spring a leak as he's grown quite attached to it.
Noah also geared up in the Upsee to help his daddy water the flowers
that were destined to suffer a demise due to heat stroke without a much
needed drink. I had hoped to walk Noah in the Upsee, however once we
were suited up together it was apparent that Noah has simply grown too
tall in comparison to my short height. I think we will have to pass the
Upsee activity on to him and his daddy. I wish there was another
product similar to the Upsee for older, growing children. The entire
family will be sad when we have to retire the Upsee due to growth.
We walked to the city's Fourth of July celebration which they hold in
front of our house at the park each year. We always walk down and then
walk back. They have small activities like inflatable bounce houses,
live music, and free cupcakes. We never really participate in anything,
our family dynamic is so different that even in a crowd we still stand
out. It's really a quick walk there and a quick walk back - really
simply to say we checked it out. We didn't realize when we moved into
this house that the city's fireworks were nearly overhead our house.
Not the best for a child with a severe sensory processing disorder.
Noah is always a gamble on how he'll react.
Surprisingly, there was no big meltdown or hysterical crying this
year. He was very jumpy with each pounding loud boom, and I am not sure
he loved that feeling. He did however tolerate the situation to get
through it, and seemed to use his grandmother and her assistance with an
umbrella to prevent any rain sprinkles from touching his legs a
security blanket, but I assume he was likely very relieved when the
firework show had concluded. Despite neighborhood lingering fireworks
he fell asleep relatively quickly.
"When all your attention is focused on fireworks you forget there is
an empty sky in which the fireworks appear." Michael Jeffreys
Love,
Noah's Miracle by
Stacy Warden is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
