A typical Saturday at your house might look like what today has for me. However, today did not FEEL typical to me. Today felt weird. You see, just six short months ago, we wouldn't have been able to do what we did today. In fact, I would never have attempted it.
Track season has started, so Rick was up and gone before the sun even considered making it's debut this morning. Six months ago, I would have waited for him to get home around 7 p.m. and then gone out to run errands. (Because there was no way I was hauling Craig around town waiting for him to erupt or run off.) However, we've come far enough along in our food allergy journey that I locked both monkeys in the back of the minivan and took off this morning.
Our first stop was to a hotel in South Austin. My dad was attending a seminar there and he had something I desperately needed: Craig's Food Journal. (I left it at their house last weekend when we visited.) When we arrived he was in the lobby, so we sat down to visit with him. I was able to visit for 30 minutes while the kids played (almost) quietly on the couches beside us. Six months ago this would have NEVER happened. Craig would have run from the hotel at least 3 times. He would have attempted to climb the pillars at least twice. And I could have counted on him taking at least one part of his clothing off.
Our next stop was to the downtown Whole Foods. Today, not only did he push the buggy for me, but he read food labels and picked out appropriate items on his own. Six months ago he couldn't have walked through the store - he would have run. He would have talked incessantly the entire trip and at some point, he would have stomped his feet and jumped up and down when not given something he wanted. To the average "passer-by", he would have looked like a spoiled brat. However, we haven't changed anything in our discipline techniques. We've simply changed his diet. (Still think every other kid in the public school system needs to be on Ritalin?)
After a morning of shopping and errand running, we arrived back home and everyone napped. I made a gluten-free, egg-free, dye-free, salicylate-free, sulfite-free dinner and the kids ate at the table while I sat down on the couch for a moment of silence. (Yes, I realize this a cop out and the lazy mom's approach to a Saturday night. However, save your judgements for church tomorrow; Mama was tired.) When Craig finished his dinner, he raced his plate to the kitchen sink and then made a run for the backdoor. (He had a baseball game to finish.) Right as he was fixing to slide through the door, he turned around, looked right at me and pointed, saying: "Mommy, that was a great dinner".
I looked behind me to make sure he wasn't pointing at someone else. Then, I pinched myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Also, I searched the house for liquor to see if I'd been drinking. However, upon further investigation I discovered something beautiful: The child was talking to me!
Six months ago I'm not even sure he knew who made him dinner, much less that he could thank me or tell me he enjoyed it. Talk about making his mom's day! :)
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