It's Thanksgiving Week in the US and even as the non-stop ads for Black Friday roll across my screen - reminding me that I should prepare to start shopping on Thanksgiving... I am reminding myself to return to gratitude to balance myself during this frenzied time of year.
Plus, I'm not a shopper. Shopping stresses me out.
I find it tedious, and I'm anxious until the shopping mission is complete. Besides, I am certainly not leaving a holiday meal and a nice glass of Malbec for 50% of an HDTV. (Don't tell anyone but the [one] box TV I own and my laptop really do satisfy all my entertainment needs.)
I'm not immune to nice things, though. I like to have good and give good and receive good just as much as the next person, but even more than giving or getting - it is the feeling of gratitude that fills me with a sense of joy and contentedness.
Does your child have trouble at the dinner table? Does your toddler throw food?
My child happens to learn best through touch. She can make a BIG mess, and she happens to enjoy the sensations which come along with it (if she even notices).
Some kids hate the sensation of sticky, wet fingers. My kid LOVES it, and for her, playing with food was a pleasurable sensory experience.
Standing at the dinner table (rather than sitting) was something she was allowed to do until she was school-aged.
I could have judged her in any number of ways:
Have you ever said the wrong thing? Put your foot in your mouth - unintentionally?
For me, having Aspergers means I feel safe with scripts. I like to know what I am going to say - ahead of time - to avoid any gaffes. Growing up, social blunders seemed to be my rule rather than my exception.
