David is at camp this weekend. He goes to Camp Horizons for their "Weekends In The Country" about once a month. The weekend starts on Friday night and Pick-up is on Sunday afternoon. This makes for a nice break for all of us.. especially David who, really enjoys his time there.
Something I have noticed about David when we are getting ready for a weekend at camp, when he gets home from school on Friday his anxieties are high, he needs to know that everything is packed, that I have his meds. in order, he wants to know exactly how the entire weekend is going to shake down. From 3pm when he gets home until 4:30 when we leave for camp is high anxiety time here.
Then we get to camp. He is usually greeted in the parking lot by one of the camp counselors who know and love him, whith a big hug. Then we are off to check in for the weekend and you can just see the stress melt away. He starts to see his friends who come from all over for the weekends and his whole demeanor changes. He knows at camp that he is accepted for who he is. There is no trying to compete and keep up in a world that sometimes just doesn't understand him. At camp he is completely at ease and he always comes home happy and full of stories about the things he has done, the friends he has seen, and the places he has gone. I am forever grateful that he has camp and the friends he has made there as part of his world.
Another big acomplishment for David is that he has joined the Track team at the Middle School. The coaches are excited to have him on the team and I am thrilled that he wanted to join... think of the exercise!!! Wednesday was the first practice and he ran 2 miles with the team!! He wasn't the first guy to finish but the coach said he wasn't the last either!!
I couldn't be happier with the opportunities that David has and it shows with his behavior. He has been so easy going and is really showing signs of becoming a teenager.
"BIRTHDAYPALOOZA" continues here this week, Aric turns 14 tomorrow and Caroline turns 6 on Thursday! The kids are on springbreak this week, so we will be trying to find creative ways to stay busy.
We have Special Olympics tomorrow afternoon. David and Ben are on the soccer team and Jake is unified player (peer helper) on the team.
Jake's first Lacrosse game of the season is on Monday if it doesn't get rained out and Tuesday we are celebrating Caroline's birthday with her birthfamily. So it's already shaping up to be a busy week! I am trying to keep them busy and out of the house as much as possible so Dave can sleep during the day. He will be working nights for a few more weeks.
Thats about it here at Camp Chaos. I will update more during the week!
~Vicki