a place where I share my thoughts, my life, and my pictures

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Back Seat


My hobby and shop will have to take a back seat to the one above. My goal is to turn out three pieces a week. But again, that is just a goal.
I had a lovely anxiety attack that sent me to the doctor today. It happens every few months or so, but this one was a doosey. They're annoying mainly because they can decide to pop up out of nowhere. Like my husbands nasty migraines, these attacks spring a life of their own and take off!
I wish I could control them with breathing and time alone, but when it's just you, your 3 1/2 year old and your anxiety attack, well... let's just say "two's company, three's a crowd."
My doctor asked what was going on, and I told him "everything is FINE, I don't know why this is happening..." It wasn't until after I got my medicine and was able to calm down, did clarity of mind come to me.
It's my son. Grady is developmentally delayed, particularly in one area, that being speech. He is about a year behind according to the tests administered by professionals. However he is significantly above his age level in picture similarities and patterns.
Now that summer has officially arrived, I realized that I cannot just wake up and decide "hmmm, what should we do today???" That doesn't work with him. He needs structure, he needs routine, he needs to learn.
So I went proactive. I went to the parent teacher store, and followed his teacher "Mrs. Anna's" lead. There will be a theme every week, and within that theme we will elaborate through reading, playtime, art, and more reading.
This week was space week, just without structure. Next week will be "Jets", the letter A and B, and the numbers 1 and 2. I have 13 weeks to make an impact, or be bored, frustrated, and feel like a lazy parent.

I choose the former.

4 comments:

Joasia said...

Yay, St. Augustine shirt :] And YAYYY for making an impact, Momma Kel :D

Michelle said...

I don't know how anxiety attacks work but I'm thinking this one might have been lurking in the shadows for a while just waiting to attack. You have a lot on your plate so it's no surprise. At least you know how to handle it and carry on.

It's really difficult to entertain children and keep their little brains stimulated. I think Grady is lucky to have a Mom who is trying her darndest to keep him happy.

I do little projects with the kids over the summer, too. Let me warn you, it's tough. They don't have the same attention span so keep that in mind. Five minutes of activities a couple times a day might be all he can handle at first, especially in his house where he's used to doing what he wants when he wants. Don't get discouraged, just keep the routine and he'll eventually catch on. Try to plan the activity time when he's at his best - in our house it's after breakfast. What about field trips? Have you looked into getting a membership to the VLM or the Zoo? He'd probably enjoy that and it would give you a break and change of scenery. Our Trader Joe's has little coloring pages the kids can bring home to work on and then return to the store and they hang them up. Ava loves seeing her work displayed and because she knows it will be displayed she works extra hard on it. We make a big deal out of it and take her picture next to it in TJ's too. There are learning experiences everywhere so don't feel like you can't take your show on the road, either. You can look for letters at the Zoo, etc.

Check out the craft blogs I follow - The Crafty Crow and The Artful Parent. They have a lot of great ideas that keep me going all summer long.

I think you two are going to develop a lot of happy memories together by going down this seemingly tedious road :-)

basstardo said...

You're doing a smashing job honey. I know it's rough sometimes, but you're strong and you'll persevere. I have complete and total faith in your efforts. Just keep him in line and all will be fine!

Kelly Reece said...

Thank you so much for the advice Michelle. You've got some great suggestions and it does make me feel better to know that even if it does just last 5 minutes... it's worth the shot and hopefully they will retain something!