I have a really funny kid. There are those days in my life where I am barely holding on, when his behaviors have pushed me near to the edge, I am frustrated and I feel like a terrible mother because I can't even understand my own child's needs. But then he does something so funny, and it makes me realize that I wouldn't have him any other way.
When he has a really strong emotion about something he always manages to express it to me in one way or another. It is not particularly funny when he is yelling (his new favorite pastime, to yell at the top of his lungs when you don't give him what he wants right away.) But sometimes I can even see the humor in that. I barely finish saying no, or you need to wait, and he instantly launches into a yell. Sometimes just the expression on his face makes me burst out laughing.
When we go to the store he often sees things that he wants. Because he is on a special yeast free diet there are a lot commercial products that he cannot have. So one way he likes to inform me he wants a bag of doritos is to walk over to the bag and punch it. He punches it, looks at me and then punches it again. He will also try to throw it in the cart and I have to wrestle it out of his hands. Back when he was still riding in a cart he would grab on the end of an aisle trying to stop the cart in order to grab his goodies. He has also been know to slap a candy machine or two at the supermarket. He slaps it, and then looks at me like, "yeah, what are you waiting for?""
The other day he wanted some M & M's. When I said no he looked at me defiantly and picked out one plain, one peanut and tossed them in the cart. It turned into a bit of a meltdown, he sat himself in the middle of the floor, and a woman nearby couldn't figure out how to get around him. Really? I know he is big, but he is still a child so just go around. She waited for me to tell her "Just go around him , obviously someone with no kid experience, let alone a child with special needs. But in its own way it was still funny. Sometimes I need it to be funny or I might cry. But I do love that he is communicating with me, in his own unique way. Seeing the humor in this can definitely help me through a difficult day.
He will also let me know when he is unhappy with my behavior. He likes to throw air punches. He will close his eyes and punch into the air. He will do it near me but has never come close to actually making contact. And I know that he can so I am sure this behavior is intentional. He looks like he is a kickboxing class. Uppercut, uppercut, jab, jab. He also likes to give hand and air kisses. This is not when he is angry, it is when he wants to dismiss you from the room. We always used to kiss him and say I love you before leaving. But lately he hasn't really wanted to kiss me anymore. Which I guess is OK because he is 7 and I can't really expect kisses on the lips forever. So before I can say anything he will put his palm up to my mouth and make a kiss noise. Sometimes he just smacks his lips at me. At first I was so touched, he was initiating such a touching emotion. But then when it continued to be followed by a bye, I love you, I realized that I was being dismissed. He does it most often when his is done with me and trying to get me to leave the room. You can't but help to love the way his mind works. He certainly gets his point across.
Things like this help remind me that every cloud has a silver lining. And as my mother always told me, laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.
