AG Family Day at a Jackson General's Game

     Last night we went to the Jackson General's baseball game for American Greeting's family day. It was a lot of fun. We started by heading to Jackson a little early to do some furniture shopping for our new home, then we headed over to the ball field to enjoy the company picnic.

     Rylee knew there was going to be a fireworks show at the end of the game and was pretty on edge. She cried a little, whined a lot, and even screamed a few times. She was in a pretty bad mood all around. Her daddy saved the day by letting her play her game in his lap for a little while. After that, she seemed to loosen up little by little, until soon she was back to her happy, goofy, little self.

    The girls loved the music and dancing that went along with the game. Payton was lap-hopping from person to person until she settled in Rylee's lap. These girls are so silly. They keep me smiling. They lasted in the seats for about 4 innings until they wanted to head over to the play area.

     They had an absolute blast in the play area. The jumped, climbed, slid, and ran around to their hearts' content. It definitely helped them get some energy out. Afterwards, I got them some ice cream and we headed back to our seats just in time to watch the final inning and wait for the fireworks show to begin.

I copied my post from facebook about last night below.

     We took a big risk last night and it actually paid off. 
     We went to the Jackson Generals baseball game last night. After the game there was going to be a fireworks show. Both girls are scared of loud noises. Rylee was showing some signs of major anxiety before the game ever started. Her sister was playing off of her anxiety and was pretty anxious herself. (That's the [not so] fun thing about having a child with autism. Even though all signs currently indicate Payton is neuro-typical, she wants to be just like big sister. Therefore when Rylee is anxious or melting down, oftentimes Payton displays similar behaviors. It's truly exhausting.) We told them we could leave before the fireworks started if they were too scared, but we had brought their ear protection just in case they wanted to stay. The night went on and both girls started to loosen up and have lots of fun. When it came time for fireworks, Payton was still pretty anxious (I think she may have been more tired than anything.), but Rylee was pretty calm, so we decided to stay. Once we put their 🎧 on, they were both fine. They watched the entire fireworks show with nothing but sounds of wonder and amazement. At the end both girls said the fireworks were the best part!
      There is no instruction manual to being an autism parent. Sometimes it can be very isolating. People don't understand why your child may scream at them instead of greet them when they say hello. People don't understand why a 7-year-old may still need to be held and carried around. People don't understand that she wants to be out and about with everyone, even though she may not want anyone to look at or talk to her. People don't understand how intense her anxiety can be and how tough it is for her to deal with "fun" activities. Sometimes, it just sucks. But in moments where she faces her anxieties head on and comes out with happy memories to replace the fear, it's all worth it. At this point, I honestly don't care what people think of me and my parenting choices. Rylee Love will always have autism. Our goal is not to "cure" her of autism. Our goal is to teach her how to cope with the symptoms of her autism and embrace things she was once too afraid to like. Last night we accomplished that goal.