Once we arrived in Nashville and found our hotel the entire trip was much easier…well, except for a couple of things I forget about because we live in rural Iowa.
- Tucker, you cannot run across the parking lot. You must watch for cars (Read Day #20 – The Turtle or the Hare, Part 2). This is serious business, folks.
- Tucker, you cannot bump into people in the elevator and swing your arms wherever you want. (Read Day #7 – Day 7 for 7 Senses)
It sounds a bit silly – but in our own comfortable environment I sometimes forget how many challenges we have removed or ‘learned to cope with.’ In a new environment – it’s just different. He’s trying to make sense of so much.
The day begins with more questions…
What time?
Where?
How long will we be there?
How long will we stay there?
Who will be there?
What can I do?
We did the best we could do and finally my husband asked him to sit. He sat across from him with a soda and said, “Tuck, we need to have a man to man. I know that you like to know what is happening. I know it makes you feel better. I know it feels awful to not know. Your mom and I just don’t know all of the details. I promise you that as soon as we know things we will tell you. Have I ever led you astray or confused you or not been here for you?”
He answered, “No.”
“Okay then, I really need you to trust me. Your mom has this race in the morning and it’s a really big deal. She trained to run 13.1 miles for you. So – we need to do the very best we can to help her be rested and calm so she can be ready to run. No worries, okay? I promise I will be right by your side.”
He answered, “Okay.”
Off we went to a spaghetti supper where Tucker got to meet and have his picture taken with TobyMac (well…we all did).
Now, let me tell you about the excitement here. After our photo, Toby agreed to autograph his new hat.
The concert wasn’t far off…and I started to get nervous, but there was no need for nerves.
I was SO, SO, SO blessed by this entire event. Little did Tucker know that I had done some recon work with the TobyMac folks. I told them about Tucker and about why this concert meant so much to us. Sure, it is awesome to raise money for a worthwhile cause…but to FINALLY have an opportunity to take my boy to a concert that he could at least have a chance of enjoying? Heaven…just like heaven.
They reserved a row in a more ‘private’ balcony area for us. It had an area that we could escape to and a bathroom only for the 40 seats in that balcony. I had earplugs and sunglasses in my purse just in case it became too overwhelming.
The concert began, and we could NOT take our eyes of Tucker. He was mesmerized. I went over to check on him because he is so very self-aware and I knew would tell me how he was doing.
He put his arms around me, “Mom, this is awesome. Thank you so much. I love this. He’s so great. I am seriously so happy right now.”
That sure made the idea of 13.1 miles worth it…
He also has a new favorite song.
It’s not a big surprise to me – he loves songs that have a ‘heavy beat.’
On our way home I asked about his favorites and what he learned.
#1 – My new favorite song is the one where Toby had a cane.
#2 – That God gives us ALL gifts and we should use those gifts to make the world better.
#3 – No matter who we are and we should love everyone.
That seems pretty complete to me. Tomorrow’s blog? Why I missed yesterday…it seems running 13.1 miles is exhausting!
366 Days of Autism 