If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.
Two days after our initial screening of Zootopia, Josiah and I tried it again. This time we went on a Sensory Friendly Day, with the lights turned up (at least they were for part of the film, not sure whey they suddenly went out) and the sound turned down, so everyone can get up, dance, walk, shout or even sing if they want. One of the local theaters offers this option four times a month.
Josiah made it through the entire film this time. Read more
Today Josiah and I went to the movies. We spent more time preparing for the movie than actually enjoying it.
We were the first to arrive. The doors were locked when we got there. We sat in the parking lot for 10 minutes while I downloaded an app, entered a gift card number and opened up my email to get electronic tickets.
We watched as the ticket taker attempted to copy the authorization number from my phone in order to print out paper tickets. It wasn’t going well for some reason. He walked away to get help, leaving Josiah and me to wait. Josiah walked away too, many times actually.
Oh the places you’ll go
Oh the things you will see
When you ride on a big tandem bike with me
You’ll pedal fast and I’ll pedal slow
It won’t really matter as long as we go
As long we’re out in the warm Texas sun
You working hard, and me having fun
Exactly one day after Josiah turned 13, I began praying some very specific prayer requests for him. I’ve been asking God to keep him free from aggression and self injurious behaviors; for protection from germs so he can stay healthy; for a functional form of communication in all of his environments and for wisdom about his medications.
Given all Josiah has been through since then, one might think God hasn’t been paying attention, but I know He is at work. Josiah’s medications have been tweaked and he’s doing really well right now. His mood is stabilized. He’s sleeping great. He’s even beginning to have success using his Ipad for some basic communication.
In addition to these prayers, I’ve also been praying for something else. Something huge. It has been on my heart for a while. A small part of me has always felt it’s what’s best for Josiah. However, I wanted to be absolutely, positively, without a doubt, SURE before moving forward. I need to know it’s the right thing to do since it so greatly impacts many other things. For the past 9 months I’ve been praying for wisdom about whether or not to home school Josiah.
