I really love this time of year. I love the fall and Thanksgiving. This is the time of year when I am finally ready to see Christmas lights and listen to Christmas music. The stores almost to ruin it for people when they put out Christmas decorations toward the end of September. It’s aggravating enough for adults, but can you imagine how confusing it is for an autistic child?
In the middle of October, I took Matt on a planned trip to the store to pick out a pumpkin to carve. “Mommy, I want Christmas tree, like that!” Matt says happily pointing at the pretty display in the store. “It’s a pretty Christmas tree.”, I said, ”And we will get a Christmas tree after Thanksgiving. Today we will pick out a pumpkin to carve for Halloween.”
Matt looks at me as if I am crazy. “Hey, it’s not pumpkin time, it’s Christmas time, see? ” Again, points over to the Christmas display at the store. He was almost in a panick because he felt like the order of events was changing on him and if we didn’t get a tree right then, we might miss Christmas. I felt a meltdown coming on in the store as he did his pre-freakout dance. Grrrr. STUPID RETAIL STORE!!!
I finally got him outside to the gardening section where they sold all the pumpkins. “See Matthew, look if we don’t get a pumpkin now, we will miss making it’s face and putting a candle in it for Halloween time.”
He began to relax and smiled when he saw all the pumpkins. Then as he got closer, I saw his eyes dart from one pumpkin to the other and then back to the first. He couldn’t decide. He would point to one and then when he saw it’s imperfection, he would get upset…….”nooooooooo” He said. I chose another, and another. I couldn’t ignore the strange look I was getting from another shopper. Surely she was thinking “What a spoiled brat. ”
I sure wish people would just come out and say what they are thinking. That way I can give them a piece of my own mind. After about the 8th pumpkin we looked at. Matt nodded happily. With a relieved sigh I put it in the cart with him where he proudly held onto it. Thank you, Lord. That could have turned out much worse.
………..Stupid retail store!!!!
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