Tee Ball

Well.......Matthew definitely likes hitting and running when it comes to playing tee ball, it is the throwing and catching he hates. He is getting better and has a pretty good swing. I am sure Daddy will try and transform that to a golf swing some day.
Overall it has been a tough couple of weeks. It feels like you can never exhale because a bump is just around the corner. It seems that a great boom of progress is followed by a period of regression...or maybe a period of difficulty proceeds a streak of progress.......who knows. Regardless, it has just been a draining and hard 2-3 weeks. In keeping things honest, when Matthew goes through hard patches, he does not sleep (up every 1-2 hours through the night), tantrums that you have to see to believe and crazy stimming. It is during these times that the autism just screams at you and it is hard to keep the faith.
After a very upsetting weekend and and polishing off an entire of pint of Ben and Jerry's in one sitting (Elena's fault) I needed to see something positive. I took Matthew to the playground at McDonald's to burn off some energy after school today. There was an adorable girl about Matthew's age. This was the conversation that took place.

Matthew: Mommy, the little girl wanna pay wif me.
Me: Go ask her
Matthew goes over to her
Matthew: Little girl, what you eat for bweakfast? Wanna pay evator (elevator)?
Later she came to show Matthew her Strawberry Short cake notebook. Matthew takes it from her and says
Matthew: Dis is cool. I love strawberries.
He pretends to eat a strawberry off the notebook and then hands it back to her.
******
Then tonight as Mark was eating a piece of candy:
Matthew: Daddy, can I have a little, tiny bite please?

I know that does not seem like much but "little, tiny bite"! Wow, I love that language!

It is these moments that bring me sanity and I try to focus on when it feels like everything else is slipping. I suppose every parent who has a child with autism has fears of regression, going back to that place where your child seemed unreachable. I love Matthew so much and it hurts to see him struggle. I hope and pray for the day when this is only a memory.