I Gave in: Respite for Mom and Ansty Pants

Alrighty, so I tried. I really did, and I am worn out!!! I had intended to keep Antsy Pants home with me all summer, except for 10 days of overnight camp (courtesy of a very generous scholarship). I thought "What's the big deal? His sisters will be at day camp. I can handle one kid for 24 hours." Boy was I wrong!

We have spent the last two weeks going to the library, to the pools, to Nickel City, and to grandma's house in Chicago and I am exhausted.

I had resisted putting Antsy Pants in summer day camp because we, like so many other families in this economy, are on a tight budget. Every nickel and dime is accounted for. Furthermore, most of our money goes to therapies and activities to help my son keep up his physical, mental, and emotional progress and as a result I feel like his sisters sometimes get the short end of the stick. This is why I decided to enroll the girls in summer camp and stay home with the boy.

Every single morning, regardless of how much sleep he has had, my son is up at 7 a.m. like clockwork. Sometimes, he will wake up even earlier, like at 5 a.m. I do give him credit in that he has learned that he is not to wake anyone up before 7 a.m. If he is up before then, he knows to get himself a glass of milk and keep the volume down on his TV. While this may not seem like a big deal to most people, it took a lot of work to accomplish. 

As other parents of kids with autism know, these types of children can be very "logical" in their thinking. So my son sees nothing wrong at getting out of bed at the crack of dawn, well because it's daylight out and people wake up when the sun is out and go to sleep when it gets dark outside. 

It's a continous, daily burst of energy for this boy. We take walks, play at the park, play Wii, read, run errands, etc., and he still manages to have the energy to ask "What are we doing next?"

I finally gave in. Well it's more like my exhausted body gave me a kick in the pants and "encouraged" me to give in. Antsy Pants is in a wonderful, loving Jewish day camp and loving it!!! I know the right choice was made when he came home beaming the first day of camp and asked me to sign him for the entire summer next year. My body also thanked me when I actually had enough energy to clean the living room and the kitchen.

Now what do I do between those two weeks when camp ends and school starts?