It’s that time again.  The Holidays.  It’s a weird time for my autistic kid.  She gets anxious, and undone with no school, and having so many unknowns makes her crazy.  Again, we plan and hope for the best.

What started as a way to make evenings easier at holiday time has turned in to a full on tradition.  When I first moved back to Saginaw, night time was the hardest for me.  I was alone, and unhappy.  It was the first Christmas without a husband to help, and the first holiday in my own house.  One crazy kid night, I decided that jammies, hot cocoa, and a ride in the car to look at Christmas lights was the answer.  While it was only about 20 minutes of quiet…it was a moment of peace for me.  We brought blankets, and listened to Christmas music.  The dog always came along.  At first, I was pushing them to get in the car, then after only a few short trips…we had a tradition.  Every year since then, Phoebe has asked the week of Thanksgiving about our “light trips.” I was the one holding back thinking I didn’t really want to get in the car and drive around, in the last couple years.  

Tonight, was the first of the many asks about the light trips.  I told her that there might not be many up yet, but she was insistent that we go. Brendan ran and got his jammies on, and Phoebe got the dog.  We hopped in our mini-van (how cliche) and off we went.  We did see a few lights, but not as many as we hoped.  Phoebe replied…”It might be early. We can go again in a few days.”  And, both Brendan and I said…”YEP.  It’s tradition.”

So, here it is again.  The start of our trek to look at lights every other night.   If only life could go this smoothly.  🙂

Happy Turkey Day!