Special Needs Day

Fall is officially here and I couldn't be happier! Every year I look forward to the cool mornings and wam afternoons that early Fall brings. If. you live anywhere around Grenada, MS it could be 85 degrees one day and 40 degrees the next in October! Either way I'm always excited when it gets here and the leaves start changing. I love decorating for Halloween, buying mums and pumpkins, and bringing out the long sleeves and boots! One thing we look forward to every year around this time is taking a trip to Bull Bottom Farms. In case you aren't familiar, it's one of those places with a pumpkin patch, slides, corn mazes, and lots of other fun stuff to do for all ages! They started out with just a few activities and over the years have added so many fun things! I don't know if they have these up north but in the South it's a fall tradition! We are lucky enough to have Bull Bottom Farms right down the road from our house because people come from all over the state to visit!

We go to Bull Bottom Farms several times in the Fall. We will usually go as a family and then one of us will take Harper by herself. She's such a trooper when all four of us go because we have to sort of follow Nolan's lead. Harper LOVES the petting area where she gets to feed the chicken, pigs, rabbits, and goats. I think she'd stay in there most of the day if I let her. Nolan couldn't care two cents about the animals. In fact, I'm pretty sure I couldn't force him in there! Ha! Nolan LOVES the big slide and will climb that hill ten times to ride it, while Harper will go once and she's done. So we split up a little but try to stay together most of the time. Then another day we bring Harper back by herself and let her do all the things she loves for as long as she wants!

Last year, Nolan's class at school went to Bull Bottom Farms on Special Needs Day. With this being his first year in school I was pumped about getting to go on his first field trip with him. He and I had a lot of fun and were both worn out by the end for sure! You see, when Nolan is done with one activity there is no warming. . he just starts walking to the next ha! In his case he usually runs! I ran all over that place last year and got a good workout too!

This year, when he class decided to do the field trip again I'm not even going to lie I was excited but already tired thinking about it. It's one of those things you know will be fun and good memories but it is exhausting too. Well, just to show you how much he's grown and changed in the last year, this trip ended up so different than before!

-Nolan held my hand and WALKED with me to each activity.

-He followed directions so well! For example, instead of me telling him 10 times to get his mat before he runs up the hill to the slide or to put his mat up when he is done, I told him maybe twice. There was no fussing about it either.

-He tried new things he'd never done before like going up the rope at one of the treehouses. Nolan even let some of the teenagers that were there to help assist him! He usually doesn't even go to the treehouse area because he's more determined to get somewhere else.

-He asked for my phone several times to make some videos and when I said, "no" there were no tantrums; just a little fuss and we moved on.

-We even sat down at the picnic table and ate lunch together!

-When it was time to go (because we had been there 2 hours and done it all!) he patiently waited for me to talk to his teacher and calmly walked to the car. Last year I carried him kicking and screaming.

Our trip wasn't all good manners and smiles. He waited in line very well at the big slide but at the bike track he struggled. He could almost touch the bike but it wasn't his turn yet and that made it more difficult. He screamed a few times and tried to climb the fence and take his turn early but we got through it without tears, injury, or tantrums. This was a BIG win!

We always feel so comfortable on Special Needs Day regardless of how the experience is. Last year when it was a little more difficult for us there was no staring or feelings of being a burden. Everybody has similar struggles so they just get it. While we were patiently waiting in line for the big slide a little boy around the age of three came up behind me and started pushing his way though. I heard his mom calling his name but couldn't get to him quickly enough to stop him. I grabbed his hand and started talking to him the way I do Nolan. When his mom caught up to us she was so thankful but also would not quit apologizing. I could tell she was much newer to this world of disability than we were and I saw so much of myself in her. I immediately told her there was no reason to apologize. I explained who Nolan was and that I've been in her shoes not too long ago. She couldn't believe how well Nolan was waiting in line and I quickly told her to hang in there because she would be here soon.

The special needs world is a community and you are apart of it whether you want to be or not. It is so hard the first couple of times you see your child with other kids who have special needs. To us Nolan is just Nolan. He isn't Nolan the 3rd grader, Nolan with autism, or Nolan who is so unlike other kids his age. He's just our son and his own person; definitely one of a kind. When we look at him we don't see how struggles or set backs. We just see him because that's what parents do. Then when we see him with other kids who have all types of disabilities it slaps us like a ton of bricks at first. It is a reminder that he is different. All the difficulties he faces each day are now in the front and we have to look them square in the eye. Some kids have more complex disabilities while others don't seem to struggle as much. Being around others with special needs is bittersweet because it feels good to be around people who get it and understand; but it also reminds us of the lifelong difficulties our kids face everyday. It is so nice to talk to other parents who are going through the same things but also scary to see and hear things that we haven't experienced yet. I love how everyone helps each other because there is no fear in what you don't know when you already live in it. Like I said: it is bittersweet being apart of the special needs world. But I am so thankful for days like Special Needs Day and the people who make it easier to enjoy the sunshine and cool breeze of Fall with my son like everyone else.