JACK!

So, this week is "half term" from school and I have to admit I was dreading it a bit. What an awful thing to say, I should be loving that I get to see him all day. I hate that his behaviour affects me in that way.

Anyway, I thought we'd brave it and go grocery shopping when Tony came home from college. Usually it is a crying match (often feel like it myself many times) from start to finish, but he did AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that's my new favourite word ;-)

We took his new PECS cards to try so he had the pictures on a little card in front of him of things we were looking to buy and we'd ask "where is...?", he'd point to it on the card, then we'd look in the aisles. Katie also helped, but trying to take the cards off (velcro) so we got a bit muddled sometimes. Medical physics have also provided us with an adaption to put on the side of the trolley, really it's just a little shopping bag for him to put a few things in and he loved it - except when he went to put the butter in and dropped it so it squidged everywhere, lol. It was just amazing though. I can't think of one time he shouted, not even at the checkout, which is usually a trigger for him.

We even got to go to the cafe and he was just so smiley and tried some of Katie's jelly and loved it. It was quite late so we were pretty much the only ones there so she was running up and down - something I need to follow up asap because I've noticed her lips and mouth are going a bit dusky after she's been exerting herself, but sometimes even when she hasn't been doing anything. They checked her heart via fetal echo when she was in-utero and after birth because of Jack's heart problems and she was always fine, but she is concerning me a bit lately.

On the way home, it was so uplifting. The difference in mood for us all from a pleasant outing was amazing. On one hand I'd like to be optimistic, but realistically I doubt he will be permanently different overnight. It was probably a fluke and it will be a crash if he acts as usual the next time. We'll definitely take the cards again and get a few more pictures of things to fill the gaps a bit. Please, please, please. Life would be easy if he could be like that even half the time. It's hard not to build my hopes up.