It has been three weeks since I have written an update on my son and school. There were a lot of things going through my mind that day as we took him to his new school. I was concerned about how difficult it would be to try to explain to him that we would be leaving him that day and not seeing him for two weeks. To describe his eating as picky would be a severe understatement, so there were major concerns about him eating while he was out there.
Surprisingly, getting him to the school was much easier than I anticipated. Saying goodbye wasn't, and I don't think he understood when I told him that I would see him in two weeks for Thanksgiving. With me being the worrier that I am, I called the school every evening to get an update on how he was doing. The initial reports that we got that first week were encouraging. He tried a couple new foods like
hash browns and some salad. His teacher said he was adjusting to the schedule and working well in class.
At the time, I considered writing a post about my adjusting to his being gone. When he is here, he basically dominates the television. It is rare that I get to watch what I want on television, when I want to watch it, and without interruption. Then there is the issue of buying him all the food that we buy special for him. In addition to the benefit he would get from being at the proper educational facility, there were benefits to me in terms of my personal leisure and savings on the weekly grocery bill. Still, the bottom line was that I missed him immensely.
His first weekend at the school was a bit more difficult for him. He prefers to stay home on the weekends, and watch TV, play video games, and surf the internet. The school plans a lot of weekend outings and activities, which he shows no interest in. They do have socials where they play music and have dancing. He really enjoys and looks forward to those.
When the second week of school started, he had a difficult time getting back into the routine, but had a another good week of classwork. Towards the end of the week, he started to have a lot more difficulty, especially in the eating department. By the end of the second weekend, I was extremely worried because he had basically stopped eating and drinking entirely. It became a concern at school as well, as they had us pick him up a day earlier than the original Tuesday pick up date.
He has been home almost a week now. As soon as we picked him up, he started drinking again, and he has been eating his usual fare since he has been home. Tonight, he and I went out to Watkins Regional Park in PG County, MD to see the Winter Festival of Lights. It has become something of a Thanksgiving weekend tradition for the two of us. As we were driving home, he looked over at me and said, "No school tomorrow, Daddy."
Tomorrow is the day we are supposed to take him back to school. They are having a Christmas party. When we picked him up last week, he talked about coming back to school and going to the party. However, based on his response coming back from the Festival of Lights, I have a feeling we will have a difficult time tomorrow. More importantly though, is the eating. This time, he is not supposed to come home until just before Christmas, almost four full weeks.
I am not sure what will happen over the next four weeks. The one thing I know for sure, is that it will be another four weeks of worry on my part. I am not sure what will happen if he stops eating and drinking again. He obviously needs to drink and eat. He also needs to adjust to his new situation. My son, even with his disability, is a bright child. If he thinks he can continue to manipulate the situation and get to go home by not eating and drinking, he will display those behaviors. Pray for us.
At the time, I considered writing a post about my adjusting to his being gone. When he is here, he basically dominates the television. It is rare that I get to watch what I want on television, when I want to watch it, and without interruption. Then there is the issue of buying him all the food that we buy special for him. In addition to the benefit he would get from being at the proper educational facility, there were benefits to me in terms of my personal leisure and savings on the weekly grocery bill. Still, the bottom line was that I missed him immensely. 
Image via WikipediaMy given name is Richard. It is the name that I use on any official documents that require a signature. I am rapidly approaching the age of 50. For my entire life, I have gone by the name Dick or some variation of it. I have been called Dick, Dickie, Dickster, and since I am a junior, my least favorite moniker, Little Dickie.
Image via WikipediaHere is hoping that everybody out there has a wonderful Thanksgiving with all of their family and friends. Our family is having a quiet Thanksgiving at home for a change; just my wife, my son, and I. The turkey will be going into the oven shortly and the smell of roasting turkey will fill the house. It is one of my favorite smells.
Image by Laura4Smith via FlickrI finally have received my information for Open Enrollment for my health insurance for 2011. First, I was concerned because the company I work for was late sending anything out regarding open enrollment. Then there was the letter that came from my company informing us of the dates of open enrollment and that our share of the cost would be higher than in previous years.
Image via CrunchBaseI got my first job when I was 15 years old. It was in retail. At a very early age, I was instilled with an ethic to provide good customer service to our customers. In most of my positions over my career, I have had to perform some level of customer service.
Image via WikipediaThis morning was a reminder of why I do not like red light cameras at intersections. I was heading home from the grocery store when I was coming up to an intersection that has a red light camera. As I approached, the light turned from green to yellow. I was fairly close to the intersection, and had I maintained my speed would have easily made it through the intersection before the light turned red. However, I had the camera in the back of my mind, so I hit the breaks. I had to hit the breaks fairly firmly to stop before the intersection and an item sitting on the passenger seat flew to the floor of the car.
Image of David Mills
I have nothing against the Prince or Miss Middleton. They seem like a perfectly lovely couple. Both are attractive young people and seem nice enough. I guess I just don't understand the whole fascination that we seem to have for the Royal Family. After all, we fought a revolution a couple hundred years ago to gain our independence from the crown, and besides, the monarchy is just a figure head anyway.
Image via Wikipedia
Image via Wikipedia
Image by qnr via Flickr
Image by Mike "Dakinewavamon" Kline via FlickrIn October, the state of Maryland became one of nine states along with Washington DC to have a complete ban on hand held cell phone use while buying. Currently, the offense is considered a secondary offense in Maryland meaning that you can only be charged if you are charged with another moving violation. I have made known my opposition to these types of laws here and here.
Cover of Decision Points Former President George W. Bush has been making the interview circuit hawking his new memoir "Decision Points." According to Amazon.com, Bush takes an honest look at his flaws, mistakes, and accomplishments in the book. He also shares the details behind how he reached various decisions during his presidency.
Image via Wikipedia
Image via WikipediaI hate my neighbors! No, this is not another rant about the group of single guys that live next door to me and their propensity for playing their music so loud that my walls vibrate and I can't hear my own TV. Instead this is about my fellow citizenry in Prince Georges County Maryland, or as I like to call it, DC East.
