My grandson had a meltdown last night. It came after he showed me many of the new things he can do and what he has learned in the past few months. He was so pleased showing what he can now do – joy to my heart.
When it came, it came full blown and out of the blue – pow! It was really intense. We had some speculations about some recent changes in his world which may have made him a bit more vulnerable to the storm, but there was nothing that we could pinpoint as the cause. Perhaps tincture of sleep would help with the reset button for a fresh start tomorrow.
Someone must have failed to let A.C. (Mr. Alarm Clock) in on the plan because we were awakened with a full-volume siren-quality outburst which started earlier than usual and lasted longer. The message that was to have been delivered eventually arrived and he promptly recognized the value of the plan and he then slept deeply. Upon awakening he was treated to his favorite breakfast, enjoying it in a most leisurely manner. All words were superfluous.
Refreshed, he was back in his element. Routines were re-connected with, and he further fortified himself for the day with a dose of medicine labelled cheerios and raisins. A change of clothes, kick the ball a few times and before you know it, it was time to visit with his friends at school.
He settles in but his head is down and he’s facing away from the others. They are all aware of him in their own wide eyed manner. Some doing, some not, but all seemed attuned to slight changes. His “girlfriend” takes the initiative and makes the first move by bringing over a lawnmwer, roller-ball, noise maker thingee. It helps since it gets him moving. Somone mentions his name and she picks the beat up again and starts to point out pictures of him on the wall. Still no cigar but it’s moving in the right direction.
The big person suggests to the group that the “welcoming song” was a good idea since he had just come into the room. Looking down again. Plan B was to sing it anyway, but inserting the names of all the others one at a time. When it came time for each to show his or her stuff by dancing, they would and then everyone clapped their hands, all of this to the beat of the tune. Not looking up but he applauded each for showing up and dancing. His turn came, still looking down, but up he went and showed some nice moves and accepted the applause.
The next round of tears didn’t come from him, it came from grandad. Yes, it takes a village.
