Spectrum Saturdays: We Went Shopping. Together. And It Was Okay.

I went shopping with three little boys today. Ciaran (8), Quinn (6), and Brennan (4) all accompanied me to Target to do the last of the school supplies shopping.

This is not an everyday occurrence, as I usually consider shopping to be "my time". But today I thought it would be good for the boys to get out of the house, and maybe if I took them out, then the big kids could clean up a little. Nothing big, you know, just the garbage that people keep leaving on my floor. Because being no more than 20 feet from a trash can almost at all times, is still just too much. It's my fault really. I should fashion trash cans for them to wear.

There was a lot of walking around. And things were said. Things like,

"No, stand behind me. Why? Because I don't want to run you over with the cart. I'm still hoping for Mother of the Year, and plowing you down at Target will completely derail my chances."

And...

"Ciaran, Oobi eyes are not an essential school supply"

By the end of the trip, I found myself contemplating if they're squirrely while shopping because I rarely take them, or if I rarely take them, because they're squirrely. It's a toss up.

We did lay down some ground rules.

1. Don't take toys to Target
2. No singing in the store
3. No touching stuff
4. I'm not here to buy you all the things you want. I'm just here to get school supplies. 

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to how many of those rules were followed? Hint. It's Zero.

I will say that taking Ciaran to a store these days, is much easier than it was when he was little. He didn't freak out at all the people, he tried really hard to follow my directions, and he was really grateful for what he got. Like a vanilla drink from the Starbucks, and a cookie at the Deli. They were great at the Starbucks, by the way. They took the one drink I ordered for the boys to share, and put it in three separate cups with whipped cream on each. 

Life with Autism isn't always simple. I'm always looking for ways to teach Ciaran new skills. But it's not always hard, either. There are also days like this where it's just fun, and the challenge is just that he's an 8 year old boy. I love that.

*****

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