Last night, at Elizabeths bball practice at Klager, Wil took off running down the hall. I chased him down, and then couldnt find his pink visor. Where the heck did he put it? Ummm, I was holding it! Oops! I had picked it up in my haste to get him, knowing Elizabeth was already headed out to the car in the cold. I guess I can only concentrate on 2 things at once! This made me realize, chasing Wil is simply a habit now. I pick up his thrown hats, toys, etc on the way to chasing him wherever he has decided to run off, because I usually have 1 or 2 other kids with me that also need attention. I just do as I go, and sometimes am not processing what I do! Im sure a few of you can relate! :) Running off is very typical of many of our kids with Ds. I remember going to play dates with typically-developing kids, and theyd all be playing while Wils main goal was to make an escape for the door. Even outdoor birthday parties were challenging. Loads of fun activities happening, and Wils focus was on how to get out of the gate without anyone noticing and just run, to only he knew where. I became self-conscious about this. What was I doing wrong? Why was my child taking off when no one elses was? Then, I started going to DSST playdates. Just about every one of us mothers was chasing our child down the hallway. They were always looking for the great escape! Our kids may have low muscle tone, but when they want to disappear quickly, they are like world champion sprinters! His quickest and most spectacular escape was at Elizabeths basketball clinics at Crisler Arena. Fortunately, it was empty except for the womens UM basketball team and the basketball students taking the clinic. We all got together for a group picture, Wil was right there, and the next second he wasnt! Everyone was shocked at how fast that happened! All of us moms split up, and searched for Wil. Fortunately, I saw some UM students working there at the time, and asked if they had seen a blond boy, 7 years old, who has Down syndrome. His name is Wil. No, they hadnt seen him, but they did have surveillance cameras they could use to try to locate him. They spotted him on the camera and one of the moms brought him back to the gym. All of us grew a few grey hairs that day, and it took me a long time to lose my jitters. So, its a huge comfort to talk to other moms who share the same experiences. When I bring these stories up at Down Syndrome Support Team gatherings, there is not one time that another mom has not laughed, and shared a similar experience. We feel we are losing our minds sometimes, but we wouldnt have it any other way. I love my Wil, and I will chase him to the ends of the earth to my last days if I have to, I just want to find a way to laugh along the way.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 12:34:41 +0000
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