To Grandma's House

Joey is at Grandma's for a sleepover. We miss him. There is something sad about an empty bed when one of them goes to Grandma's. Joey's room is so quiet and dark, with him there to turn on the nightlight and play the CD. He's having fun, though.

We've been prepping Joey since yesterday for the visit. He should have had his turn a couple weeks ago, but he's been struggling so that we couldn't in good conscious either disturb his routine nor foist a depressed, acting-out child on Grandma. Joey needed some bedrock, as school wasn't going well for him. When we asked him if he wanted to go, he clearly said "No."

Then came Ms. Sc. The world has changed.

He has been in such a good mood, and suddenly doing so well, Grandma decided it would be a good idea to have him come for his turn at Grandma's. We decided the main attraction would be going grocery shopping for Thanksgiving. So we started talking about Thanksgiving dinner, and he had clearly been talking about it at school, because he knew he was supposed to have turkey. Yesterday we started being more specific: what did he want for Thanksgiving? Besides turkey? And then this morning was talked about it, and I started making a list of things we would need in the grocery store to have those things, complete with photos.

Before I tell you what he wants, I should note there is method to my madness. With the new change in bus policy (which has my bus driver as confused and unhappy as I am), I discovered we did best if he had something in his hands to distract him. The best thing we had was his new schedule, with the pictures and the written out routine. He clutched it the whole time we waited, and all the way to school, and we didn't have a single "No bus! No school! I missed the bus!" wail. So I thought a nice visual grocery list would help him if he started feeling anxious in the grocery store. I take Joey to the grocery, but not very often, because he does sometimes get very nervous, and likes to run around the cart in tight circles. With him in such a good mood, he should do fine, but just in case...

So what does he want for Thanksgiving dinner? Unprompted, he came up with turkey, pumpkin pie, and cheese. Then he agreed to sauerkraut, dressing, peas, corn, mashed potatoes, and biscuits. He said "no, thanks" to asparagus, sweet potatoes, and gherkins. He was unsure about cranberry sauce or cranberry bread (though he liked the cranberry bread last year).

Joey came home in after-school mood, so at first we were unsure he still wanted to go to Grandma's. Then he suddenly clicked and got very happy.

And Andy freaked out. He wanted to go to Grandma's too. He likes Grandma's house.

So while Grandma explained to Andy he would be going to Grandma's on Monday, I got Joey out to the truck, where he was all smiles and grins. He told me he was going to give Grandma ten hugs and ten kisses. He was ready to go.

What a week that child is having. A new math teacher, new friends, baking cookies, and now a trip to Grandma's. How much more exciting can life get?