New habit

Now that Eli has learned to whistle....he does. 

All the time! 

I feel bad asking him to stop.  After all, it's taken him over five years to master the skill.  But it's become an unconscious habit he has formed...just sitting there, whistling. It very well might be considered a new tic, but for now we'll just call it a habit.

Walking through the house...whistling.  Playing video games...whistling.  In the bathroom...whistling. 

Most of the time I don't even think he's aware he's doing it.

"Eli!  Please stop!" is often being requested by one member of the family or another.  And he does.  For a little while.  Then he begins to whistle again.  It's so shrill and and piercing.  And neverending!  He just keeps whistling and whistling.

I'm sure in time the whistling will no longer hold his interest and he'll move on to something new. 

Not sure if I look forward to that time...or not....

Lunchtime Quickie

Eli and his winnings

I wanted to share quickly how we spent Ash's birthday last week. 

On Thursday evening (actual birthday) Ash wanted to play penny-ante poker for his birthday.  We ate homemade pizza and then we all went in search of our pennies.  We keep baggies of pennies for this purpose. 

Ash started out well, and Ben had a few big hands, but Eli was our Big Winner of the evening, which thrilled him to pieces!  I, on the other hand, had very lousy cards for the most part.  I only won two hands and when I did, the pots were very miniscule.  I can't tell you how aggravating it was to finally have a flush, only to be beaten by 4 of a kind!  Ugh!  But it's all in fun, and we had a great time, laughing and just spending time together as a family. 

I could tell it was very stressful for Eli to learn how to play the game, even though he was having an absolute blast!!  His breathing became rapid - one of his tics and self-imposed coping strategies -- when the anxiety is overwhelming him, he just automatically starts in with the frantic, deep breathing. 

He was concentrating so hard on what was in his hand.  If we would nudge him to move a little faster on his decision (because he would take fooooorrrreeeeevvvverrrrrrr!) then he'd start to freak out a bit, get angry, squeal at us and the anxiety would overwhelm him.  The constant heavy/deep breathing was a part of the entire game, as he focused and strained to understand what he was seeing and understand the cards in his hand.   But he loved it and he did VERY well!  And as you can see above, he cleaned up! 

Sunburned Ash and Alexis at Texas Roadhouse for Birthday Steak

Saturday night we went to Texas Roadhouse for steak dinners -- Eli had shrimp instead, but that was okay!  There was a lot of giggling about our Grumpy Waitress who only smiled one time at us the entire evening and seemed annoyed to have to be waiting on us at all. 

Even when we asked for the big Birthday Yeehaw for Ash, Grumpy Waitress was less than pleasant, sighed and said (like she was bored), "Let me round everyone up..." as if it was her least favorite part of her whole night.  Poor Grumpy Waitress!  Pretty sure public service isn't for her!  Gave us a humorous edge to the entire night, however! 

 

Tics - not the crawly kind

Ben mentioned to me last night that he'd noticed an increase in one of Eli's "tics"... for the last few days he's been blinking almost non-stop, sometimes winking only with one eye.  Eli overheard and chimed in, "Yeah!  I know!  It started the other day...it's like I have to just blink and blink and I can't stop!"

I'm actually wondering if the onset of the full moon tomorrow (March 8th) is the catalyst for the sudden increase in tic activity.  It will be interesting to observe whether or not this activity decreases after the moon begins to wane.

I mentioned in a previous post Eli has been presenting more baby-talking.  His teacher reports that he's being very loud and can't seem to speak in a quiet voice.  Many of his "tics" are auditory -- yelling out words, sometimes once, sometimes over and over; making repetitive noises; latching on to a word or sound that feels good him and he won't be able to leave it alone, but is driven to repeat it for days. 

Other tics are more "physical", such as the non-stop blinking, sniffing air through his nose over and over, rubbing his hands on his legs to feel the textures of the material in his pants.  Denim is a favorite texture for him to explore, and a new pair of jeans brings great joy because of all the stuff to feel!

You can imagine how strange it would seem to the someone to observe another person presenting these behaviors in public if they were not aware of the person's circumstances.  Imagine yourself encountering a stranger who is displaying some of these behaviors.  Whether it's an adult or a child, your first instinct may be to feel uncomfortable and awkward... you might think, "What's she doing??" or "Whoa, he's really weird!"  Perhaps you have already had an experience like this in your lifetime!

Now think of Eli.  Now that you have met him and are gaining a basic understanding of this phenomenal, complicated kid of ours, and you appreciate the challenges he faces in all aspects of his life on a daily basis.... I want you to think of him the next time you encounter someone you would have once thought of as weird. 

My goal is to promote compassion, tolerance, understanding and awareness here.  See that weird person in a new light.  Recognize that this person deals with daily challenges you blessedly may never know anything about.  See the person as someone's child, or a brother, sister....someone's friend.  Know the person probably has a family and a support group who loves and accepts him just the way he is, and then YOU try to do the same for that person as you would now do for Eli.   Smile, do your best to look them in the eye, even if it's awkward, and really see the person beyond his tic, or any other unusual behavior he may be presenting.

Open your heart to those who don't necessarily fit within the social "norms" of society.  Wonder about their stories and offer them kindness.  That's really the best gift you can give them.