Today....

we are going back to CocoKey Water Park. Boys and I went there in June of this year and we had a ball... No, we're not staying over this time, we're doing a day trip.

(schools are closed all day today)

###########

The boys had an absolutely GRAND time!!!! They ran, and swam, and climbed and zipped down slides, and got dunked, and floated, and ran, and swam., and climbed and zipped down slides. .... well, you get the drift...

Their dad, after much hemming and hawing and stalling and delaying and finally being cornered by Salamander (who, in exasperation, after getting another evasive answer, said: "Dad, it [coming to the water park] is a yes or no question. I just want an answer.") decided "Well. Fine. Whatever. I'll come along then."

And realized within 15 minutes after arriving at the water park that the boys were NOT going to let him get away with parking his behind in a chair and being glued to his laptop and blackberry for the day. And grudgingly gave in and interacted with the boys for about an hour.
And then launched into his usual and oh so familiar drama to make clear how unhappy he was about being 'stuck' in the water park.

I made a conscious decision to not react, which then of course resulted in the drama being racketed up a few notches. I kept focusing on the boys, making sure they were having a good time, not responding to the ever increasing drama. When the boys dad realized that there wasn't going to be a response, he walked off and spent the next several hours sulking in the front lobby of the water park until the boys and I were ready to leave (yes, he should have taken his own car instead of riding with me/boys ...)

Whatever....

The boys didn't react much to the drama either. They simply adjusted to the fact that, once again, there was only one "adult" available to do stuff with them. Salamander ended up finding a few school/summer camp mates (amazing that they recognized each other in the mayhem and that Salamander was able to reconnect in a socially acceptable way) and spent a couple of hours running around with them, which allowed me to stay, worry free and guilt free, with Potatey.

I really really LOVE this water park. If for no other reason than that it truly shows how far Salamander has come (even 12 months ago he wouldn't have lasted more than 15 minutes in an environment like this). It's so nice to be able to do 'typical family stuff' with the boys and not have to worry every second when the 'autism torpedo' is going to blow up the plans.

[Now obviously there was another torpedo in play yesterday, but I'm getting pretty good at minimizing the chances for that factor to enter the game, and, if it DOES enter, at defusing it...But really, isn't it sad that my 10.5 year old with substantial neurological challenges has become more "mature" in managing his behaviors and responses (and is doing a bang-up job at using his various coping strategies when he does get overwhelmed) than his father??]