It's days like yesterday when I realize and am thankful for how far Emmett has come.
Yesterday, he and I went out to run some errands. There were two things he cared about: eating lunch ASAP and seeing Nana at 4pm.
First, he was patient when we stopped at Grandma's house for 45 minutes. Then he got Five Guys and was a happy camper.
Then he was a champ when I spent over an hour at the Pandora store picking out Nana's birthday present (which we couldn't get on the 4th when the power was out at the mall)...he spoke several times about being ready to go...but he talked to the staff and customers when they asked him questions and at no point did he ever get agitated.
But what happened after we left the mall has me pretty amazed...we were at the grocery store and he was getting a little more anxious because it was already 4:30 and he wanted to see Nana. He was being a bit "flappy" - which means he was pacing, doing a lot of hand-flapping, and this jumping up and down thing that looks a lot like a weird jumping jack...on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being totally chill and 10 being Godzilla leveling Tokyo, Emmett's mood was at about a 2. But at that point, it wouldn't take a whole lot to get him escalated.
So he was doing his flappy stuff. I was looking at baking cocoa. I saw he was blocking the aisle and there was a lady coming. I called to him and said something like, "Hey dude, why don't you stand by Mommy and let this nice lady through?" The lady smiled, I could tell that she could tell Emmett was different...but then:
SHE SMACKED HIM ON THE ARM
Now, it was in NO WAY a mean smack...she had a smile on her face and it was a friendly and good-hearted smack, but Emmett didn't know her and he was COMPLETELY caught off guard. Everything went into slow motion. I had no less than 90 scenarios running through my head...I looked at the confused expression on his face and he stepped back...then he took a step toward her, stared down at her and loudly said, "Ow, why did you hit me?"
OH SHIT.
Typically, any act of what Emmett perceives as aggression (either physical or verbal) could almost definitely result in him turning into Godzilla and laying waste to a 46-mile radius. I am being somewhat hyperbolic here, but only slightly.
Enter MegaMom (that's me, BTW). I swiftly and stealthily divert Emmett's attention with a "Hey! That's like a high-five! Let's do a high five!" in my best happy sing-song voice...I knew I only had a few seconds to keep this from turning into something that could be very very bad.
Seriously, though. At this point, the woman's eyes got a little bigger and I could tell she had figured out that smacking him on the arm wasn't a very brilliant thing to do. She said she was sorry...at this point I think I had him in a pretty good spot and told her he'd be okay. He was still confused...and had started talking about one animal smacking another animal. I wanted Emmett to see that everything was okay and that he was safe.
The lady apologized again and asked Emmett his name, and he answered her! That's when I knew he would be okay. Then he said, "Oh no, Nana is lost, she isn't there!" In Emmett's language that meant that he wasn't going to wait any longer to see Nana...he needed to see Nana NOW.
So the lady and Emmett and I parted ways...Emmett got a Pepsi at the check out...we found Nana. All was good. The End.
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There are times when I am out in public and I see a child/adult who is obviously different. Sometimes I just want to go up and start talking to the parent...or the child - but I don't. I might make eye contact and smile or nod. But as a parent of a kid like Emmett, I know where my mind is at when I am with him in public, and it is definitely not in a spot where I'd want to sit there and have a conversation with a stranger about my son. I guess if he's in a great mood and I'm not in a hurry...I wouldn't mind so much. But when I am in public with him I am hyper-focused on making sure he isn't mowing people down or trying to kiss the cheeks of random children.
There are times when I am out in public and I see a child/adult who is obviously different. Sometimes I just want to go up and start talking to the parent...or the child - but I don't. I might make eye contact and smile or nod. But as a parent of a kid like Emmett, I know where my mind is at when I am with him in public, and it is definitely not in a spot where I'd want to sit there and have a conversation with a stranger about my son. I guess if he's in a great mood and I'm not in a hurry...I wouldn't mind so much. But when I am in public with him I am hyper-focused on making sure he isn't mowing people down or trying to kiss the cheeks of random children.
Don't get me wrong - I am all about Emmett socializing and having a variety of experiences...but as a mom, I'd rather have a stranger approach me FIRST before they attempt to engage him.
Anyway. There's a little glimpse into my world.
