Making Friends Along the Way

Most of the time, having a child with a disability means that you live life in the slow lane. It took longer for Micah to learn to walk, he's still learning to talk, and he just graduated from sippy cups within the past year (and he's 9 years old). Most of what we do with him is at a snail's pace. "Come on, Micah, let's keep walking," is a mantra I repeat All.The.Time. But sometimes, the exact opposite is true. Sometimes we live life in a high speed blur.

Unfortunately, amusement parks fall into the second category. The sensory overload and fun factor combine to make Micah so excited that he cannot stop long enough to enjoy anything. He must rush to the next big thing as soon as he's done with the last big one. Sometimes he'll pause long enough to give a happy high-five as a thanks for the fun along the way. But usually not. Usually we're chasing him through crowds, yelling at him to get back in the stroller (so we know where he is, at least), asking him to please wait on us. Again.

It's an interesting life that we live. It gives all new meaning to the hurry up and wait game. Even while he's on hyper overdrive, he'll get distracted by something and just stand there forever looking at it. You want to ask him to keep moving while inside you're thinking, "I'm going to be asking him to get back here in .5 seconds."

*sigh*

But I am always heartened by the fact that I am far from alone in this world. Just last night, as I took Micah to hide in the restroom during the EPCOT fireworks, I talked to a mom whose son was also taking refuge in the ladies room. Loud noises. Big booms. Sensory issues. Safe places. We deal with it, and make friends along the way. Because really, what else are we going to do?