Moving Autism Chapter 1

Okay, so we are all moved in and all I can say is wow. Moving is alot of work!  I don't even like carrying in the groceries from the car to the kitchen, so wrapping my whole life in bubble wrap and moving it to a whole new location was quite an undertaking. And it wasn't so much the actual packing and wrapping and labeling and unpacking. It was the packing, wrapping, labeling and unpacking while my kids were running around crazy. And even that, I could handle... with the promise of a very cold and sparkling adult beverage at the end of the day, but MY GOD, trying to move with Camryn in the house was nothing short of impossible and if it weren't for the help of her teacher, yes I was so desperate for help that I broke down and called her teacher,  I would probably still be sitting in my garage, mouth hung open staring into space, surrounded by boxes and bags while Hurricane Camryn ripped through them, throwing their contents on the floor.
So, I guess I need to backtrack a bit so you can get the full experience. The weekend that we moved, we decided to have a garage sale. Harmless enough right? People have them all the time right? Yes and yes. BUT, have you ever been to a garage sale at the home of an autistic child? Well, I for one have not and if I have the child was not like Cams, because I would have remembered, but anyway, we decided to have this garage sale and we get all the stuff together and set up and get the signs out and it's about 11:00 at night and we realize...we have no one to watch Camryn during the sale. I thought my mother-in-law was going to help, but they had company in town and that is another story, so anyhow, we didn't have anybody who could amuse her and that could be a huge problem. I had been talking to her teacher,Ms. Mills, the day before about a camp I wanted to put Cam's in for the summer(which she is in now Praise the Lord!!!!! and I will write about it soon) and they needed to talk to her teacher to see if the camp would be a good fit for Camryn, and while we were talking about that Ms Mills mentioned if I ever needed anyone to watch Cams she would be happy to do so. I said thank you and thought to myself I would NEVER ask her teacher to watch one of her students during her time off! I mean what kind of parent does that? Ok, well apparently me, because as soon as the sun started to creep over the trees the next morning I dialed Ms Mills in a desperate panic and asked if that offer of watching Cams she mentioned about 16 hours before was still good. Of course she said yes, because she is an angel sent from above and she was there by 8:30, ready to take Cams. I LOVE MS MILLS!!! So with Cams gone and Mason and Natalie inside packing, we had a successful sale. But by 2:00 Cams was back and our house was completely packed except for mattresses and a plastic table with fold out chairs in front of the television. Now for most families moving with kids, while spending the night in a house that is full of boxes and empty of toys can be uncomfortable and boring, at least it can be explained that this is only for the night and tomorrow you will be moving to your new house and how exciting it will be and for the next 24 hours you better not touch ANYTHING if you value your life. BUT with a child who is Autistic and depends on routines and familiar surroundings to stay semi calm, a house full of boxes and a room without furniture is basically just a big ole pile of ammunition for the biggest, baddest meltdown in town. And you can explain till you're blue in the face that we are moving to a new house and soon you will have a new pretty bedroom and all your things will be there and will you please just calm down and sit at the plastic table and watch the t.v. that's on the floor while you eat your tenth happy meal in a row since we aren't buying persishable food before the move and be a good girl and Mommy will buy you a treat. OR you could just put your fingers in your ears, stick out your tongue and dance a jig because either way, it's going to get ugly...very, very ugly. Tomorrow I'll tell you just how ugly it got. ;)