Camping!!! Labor Day!! Balloons!.... Melt downs!!
What a busy weekend so far! I remembered that I do not do heights very well. I can fly. I can climb on Helicopters. I can climb up ladders. I cannot drive up mountains and come back down. When it was suggested to go up into the mountains and visit a reservoir I was all for it, until I had time to process the idea of going up and then having to come back down. Why? No clue. I love flying and landing. I love helicopters working on and flying in. I don't love ladders but I can climb one and not be panicked.
I cannot watch other people do it but I am fine if it is me. So it either a control issue or I'm just that weird.
All said and done we headed for the plains instead of the hill's and went to Bent's Fort. We arrived shortly before closing time and were able to visit without a fee. I hadn't been to this site in 25 years and a WHOLE lot had changed! There were modern bathrooms and paved parking just to mention a couple of things. There were also real people dressed in period outfits to get you started on the tour. I remembered it being a self-guided tour with signs to read. This was nice but the trails from the wagon trains were no longer accessible.
I asked the guide about it he stated he never knew about them. Sad, but there were many more detailed rooms to visit and you were able to actually go in and touch the furniture. Before everything was locked and you could look through windows and doorways.
The youngest of mine was so excited to find a real horse in the "barnyard"! She was sure that it was homeless and was left behind by all the people that were now dead. She begged with all her might to take it home meanwhile number 8 was beginning to melt down under the pressure of the bookstore being closed. This meant surely she could not get a book and the world was about to end. Being on the spectrum is not easy. Simple disappointments can be worse than say a tornado.
In an effort to avoid a full blown meltdown I asked her what we could do since the bookstore was closed. (It did not help that people were inside and the open sign was still displayed) She wailed "nothing" between sobs and tears. (nope this isn't full blown there is still hope!) She stood there crying at the door insisting that she would not leave without a book. I had to let her know that I was leaving with the other two kids and I hoped she would come along but okay if she didn't. There was no telling how she would react. I had already tried to hug her but that was out. My bag of tricks and solutions was empty at that point.
Suddenly, she noticed that I had on my glasses. She wanted them. She wanted them almost more than a book! They are prescription she could not have them. I reminded her that her glasses were coming on Tuesday afternoon (thank you amazonsmile.com they have a large selection of nonprescription glasses available). She had selected a pair similar to her old ones that number 6 had given to her. She doesn't need glasses yet but most of us wear glasses and she really feels the need. Meltdown has taken a twist, not over by any means. Now we can move away from the bookstore and that is progress.
We are crying now because Tuesday is oh so far away and the glasses come in the afternoon not the morning and she has school. Now she is not going to school until she gets the glasses. Might sound like a sticky situation but it is better than it was because we are moving toward the exit of the fort. My request for a picture at the covered wagon is turned down emphatically. So we capture a picture of the other kids without her. A new reason to melt is born! She finally stands with me by the display for a picture, disgusted, near tears and angry all in one little face. I love family outings!
By the time we get back to the party van she is sulking but able to be distracted, refuses to go to the restroom so I go alone. On my adventure to the restroom I found a gold colored skeleton key. Probably some kind of trinket out of the gift shop. Not a real one by any means, but truly abandoned by whomever. Hmm... perhaps this could be the key (pun intended) to calm the heart of one on the spectrum.
Somewhat happy trails as we drive directly into the sunset.
I cannot watch other people do it but I am fine if it is me. So it either a control issue or I'm just that weird.
All said and done we headed for the plains instead of the hill's and went to Bent's Fort. We arrived shortly before closing time and were able to visit without a fee. I hadn't been to this site in 25 years and a WHOLE lot had changed! There were modern bathrooms and paved parking just to mention a couple of things. There were also real people dressed in period outfits to get you started on the tour. I remembered it being a self-guided tour with signs to read. This was nice but the trails from the wagon trains were no longer accessible. 
I asked the guide about it he stated he never knew about them. Sad, but there were many more detailed rooms to visit and you were able to actually go in and touch the furniture. Before everything was locked and you could look through windows and doorways.The youngest of mine was so excited to find a real horse in the "barnyard"! She was sure that it was homeless and was left behind by all the people that were now dead. She begged with all her might to take it home meanwhile number 8 was beginning to melt down under the pressure of the bookstore being closed. This meant surely she could not get a book and the world was about to end. Being on the spectrum is not easy. Simple disappointments can be worse than say a tornado.
In an effort to avoid a full blown meltdown I asked her what we could do since the bookstore was closed. (It did not help that people were inside and the open sign was still displayed) She wailed "nothing" between sobs and tears. (nope this isn't full blown there is still hope!) She stood there crying at the door insisting that she would not leave without a book. I had to let her know that I was leaving with the other two kids and I hoped she would come along but okay if she didn't. There was no telling how she would react. I had already tried to hug her but that was out. My bag of tricks and solutions was empty at that point.
Suddenly, she noticed that I had on my glasses. She wanted them. She wanted them almost more than a book! They are prescription she could not have them. I reminded her that her glasses were coming on Tuesday afternoon (thank you amazonsmile.com they have a large selection of nonprescription glasses available). She had selected a pair similar to her old ones that number 6 had given to her. She doesn't need glasses yet but most of us wear glasses and she really feels the need. Meltdown has taken a twist, not over by any means. Now we can move away from the bookstore and that is progress.
We are crying now because Tuesday is oh so far away and the glasses come in the afternoon not the morning and she has school. Now she is not going to school until she gets the glasses. Might sound like a sticky situation but it is better than it was because we are moving toward the exit of the fort. My request for a picture at the covered wagon is turned down emphatically. So we capture a picture of the other kids without her. A new reason to melt is born! She finally stands with me by the display for a picture, disgusted, near tears and angry all in one little face. I love family outings!
By the time we get back to the party van she is sulking but able to be distracted, refuses to go to the restroom so I go alone. On my adventure to the restroom I found a gold colored skeleton key. Probably some kind of trinket out of the gift shop. Not a real one by any means, but truly abandoned by whomever. Hmm... perhaps this could be the key (pun intended) to calm the heart of one on the spectrum.
Somewhat happy trails as we drive directly into the sunset.
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