If you missed the start of this series, you can find it here. A lot of things will be the same or very similar.
Ben stayed in the tub for forty-five minutes, then finished eating and went to bed. Thank goodness there were no further issues from our invasion.
Then it was sunset time
There was one cloud nearby and it was a brilliant ruby red at one point, but it was behind trees from every angle I tried to capture it. Oh well…
The rest of the night was chill, I don’t really know when I went to sleep but it was late, probably midnight or after.
Ben was up before the sun. He had me in the living room at some Dark O’ Clock hour, but Daughter sent me back to bed. I don’t even know what time it was, my eyes were crossed and I was moving on auto-pilot.
Ben was very, Very AWAKE this morning. He came in and Bounced me numerous times, but I just ignored it, knowing Daughter was On Duty.
I finally woke up and stayed awake around 9:30am… really, really late for me. Ben was in the bed with me, playing some reenactment or other. I went through my email and actually read an article about the schools. I’d heard it all, and seen blips but didn’t want to make it REAL by reading about it. Yes, Ben’s school will NOT be opening in the Fall. No breaks for me. Very depressing!
I finally had to get up at 10:30. I wanted coffee anyway. No one had uncovered Sven or turned on his lights, so I did that. Not that it mattered to him, but still…
While I was getting my coffee Daughter told me there was a Zoom meeting scheduled for 11am for Ben with his OT and Speech teachers. I went and dragged him in from outside and wiped him down a little. He was sweaty and his hair had bits of leaves and who knows what in it. Daughter was fiddling with the laptop, apparently she hadn’t fully installed Zoom. Ugh! Finally connected, his teachers all said hello to him. He kept asking “What are you doing here?”
They all tried for twenty minutes to do instruction, but Ben was scripting and bouncing all over the place. We had him in between Daughter and me on the couch with the laptop on a TV tray in front of him. It kept him in place, but Zeus was trying to get up next to me or Ben and kept knocking into the TV tray… Big Dumb Dog. I had to get up and go to my room so Zeus would follow me. Distance learning is going to be near impossible for Ben. He needs the structure of his OT and Speech teachers’ rooms to focus. From what they’ve said, even in their rooms it was often difficult to get him to focus. I guess the Zoom meetings will give him a little socialization if nothing else. Maybe we can arrange to meet at the park near the school once a month or something, if the teachers are willing.
It makes me very angry at the deniers who wouldn’t wear masks, and at the people who traveled to my county to “party” because our beaches and bars were open. My county, San Diego County, was doing really well at keeping things under control. It wasn’t the BLM demonstrations that did this either. Younger Daughter marched in a demonstration on July 4th and everyone was wearing masks. Okay… rant over.
I’m sure it was partly adrenaline, but it felt like the house got ten degrees hotter. Daughter had opened the windows since it was only supposed to get up to 85F (29C) today. It felt that hot at 11:15 so I closed everything and switched the AC units on.
Daughter went to her room around 12:30 and Ben came for me five minutes later. I was back on Living Room Duty.
We just hung out and did the usual things. I taped dominoes together so I could write “The End” and “A Walt Disney Production” on them. Ben watched his tablet, built his city… regular stuff.
Younger Daughter came to pick up my car around 3pm. I guess since she registered my car with Postmates, she can only use my car? Whatever, I’m not using it, and this time she drove over in the borrowed Saturn, so I didn’t have to pick her up and drop her off, plus there’s a car here in case of emergency. Much better.
Ben started getting sleepy around 4pm. I was watching for it, so I goofed him out of it before he really dozed and got grumpy. Older Daughter was konked out in her bed. It’s probably better for her to semi keep to her work hours.
The barking of Dogzilla when I was waking Ben must have woken Daughter because she stumbled down the hall around 4:30 to take over Living Room Duty. I went back to room to stretch out. Ben was playing with his chalk when I left, but followed me (and my Big Dumb shadow) to my room. I told him he should go back to his chalk and his Mommy. He went back out to the front rooms.
The day is winding down and we’ll be starting the bedtime routine pretty soon. It’s been a pretty good day. I’ll leave you with a video of a walk through the redwoods. I’ve only been to see them once, but it left a lasting impression and I will go again.
No unwanted visitors today, thank goodness. I’m still angry at the nerve and presumption of that guy! Thanks for stopping by, it was a pretty relaxed day at Casa Cuckoo. No two days are ever the same, so I hope I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll have the coffee hot, and if I can find my pitcher, I’ll make some cold sweet tea too.
.
.
HUGS!
.
.
King Ben's Grandma 
Wow, thanks for the walk through the redwoods! That was really neat. I am not going to lick a banana slug no matter how cool it is 😅 but I admit i feel at ease just watching that sweet girl walking through the redwood forest. Hugs 🤗❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I’m not that keen on a numb tongue either👅🙄😂😂😂🤗🥰
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great to have a event free day. Sorry about the school. But I hope they would engage him in virtual meetings.
Hugs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We had a Zoom meeting today, it didnt go well. We’ll see🤷🏼♀️🤗🥰
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes I read in your post. Hope there is a way to get the kids to interact without getting exposed to the virus.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so sorry about school not opening. I hope that the more Zoom sessions he does MAYBE it will be less new and he’ll get used to seeing his people that way. If for socialization if nothing else. I agree, so much skill is being lost by our kids. For Declan, things like holding scissors are skills they work on and I am not even sure what else. When they are finally reunited, I can imagine a lot of IEP’s are going to have to go back and reachieve some skills already achieved but were lost. Aggghhhh. Well, I hope you guys have a great day and that it doesn’t get too hot!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another lazy morning. Off to a good start. I you don’t have SHHH! too much.
When does school start for your kiddos?
LikeLiked by 1 person
If it does start it will start the last week of August. I think there was a glitch in the system because today the kids found out they could see their schedules. And for Declan it just said “New Teacher.” It’s all so enigmatic. And then the system closed. So, I guess we will see what happens!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I fully support your mild rant. We are in the situation we have right now precisely because inconsiderate folks wouldn’t listen and refused to do the right thing. Politics aside, I think one of the main reasons for the cultural divide in this country is the some people are so self-absorbed that they simply cannot grasp how their actions (or inactions) might affect other people…
LikeLiked by 2 people
I just read last night that 3 recent outbreaks are from a place of worship, a bar and a private party.
Thankfully our death rate is still around 2%, but if COVID is what Ben had, expect misery for up to two weeks. He was moaning in his sleep and this child took 12 stitches in his finger when he nearly amputated it, and didnt even cry.
I’m about to rant again, so I’ll stop right here with a virtual hug🤗🥰💌
LikeLiked by 1 person
So sorry about the school. Son had the same problems. Best thing for him was getting into the habit of bouncing a ball while talking. Over time it improved his finger work and coordination. He also got to love doing it. x
LikeLiked by 1 person
His speech therapist mentioned processing delays (I know there are names for all the autism things, but I cant remember them) I’ll have to ask her if she does anything to help him connect.
I used to tell Younger when she was stumbling over her words at 3 or 4 years old to “Stop. Think about what you want to say. Now say it”, but she’s not on the spectrum🤷🏼♀️
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad you had a reasonably relaxed day after the stresses of the previous one. It is such a shame that the schools are not opening. I suppose in special education keeping a distance would be near impossible but, even so, children like Ben really need to get back to school – for his mental health and yours! You are doing a brilliant job but the strain on you is enormous. I wish the authorities were better at understanding this. I feel families with special children have been forgotten – it’s the same here in the UK as all support has been taken away. You are entitled to rant – those deniers are complete idiots!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Daughter sent me an article about the schools in the district where we live, that Ben is still officially a student of, are reopening. His last school was named first in the article. 😲🤦♀️ Not that I would send him back to that school, they can’t provide the level of support he needs, but it got me thinking about all the other school districts that Ben’s school serves. I wonder if there isn’t some way they can still open partially, if the staff is willing and if things level out again. Our numbers are still unfortunately climbing. Bars, barber shops, hair salons, places of worship… those are where outbreaks have occurred. Unnecessary places IMO. I get that people need or want their places of worship, but be safe about it!!
You’re right, kids like Ben are not being served at all! Distance learning doesn’t work. They have a difficult time with him in their special, controlled environments.
I follow another blogger with a son on the spectrum in UK. The distance stuff they assign this child is ridiculous. He won’t be going back to school. He will be homeschooled.
The US & UK have both made a mess of this pandemic. We both could’ve done with better leadership, but people voted these guys in, so… ugh! Not gonna even go there!
Hopefully some changes for good will come out of this mess!💖
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some schools here are opening with different children going in on different days. The children at least get two days a week of school and it means the numbers are lower each day so they can try to space the pupils out. Distance learning is hopeless for children with special needs – especially communication difficulties. Sorry to hear numbers are still rising with you. Luckily in Wales numbers have fallen significantly, though everything is opening up again so I wonder for how long. Really hoping for change after this!
LikeLiked by 1 person