Things have been relatively quiet here since we got back from LA and Brian's parents left. The Covid cases everywhere are spiking and there are new restrictions going in all over the place. Right after my last blog post it was announced that the gyms were closing again, restaurants closed for indoor dining, no more going inside other people's houses or having anyone over to yours. I wasn't shocked by it, it seems like something that needs to happen. It's bad everywhere this time, worse than the Spring. Even Alberta is going back into lockdown, and they aren't too happy about it! Oh for this to be that blip in time that I know it will be someday.
We are trying to make the most of things, and the kids have had amazing attitudes about the whole thing. Honestly I am in shock over how little they have complained about it - it's very interesting. Lynsey especially, as a 13 year old, I would have thought would be completely sick and tired of being stuck at home with us all the time. The wonders of modern technology have been a life saver, as I know it would be so much worse without video chats. I just never could have imagined back in March that we would still be here in November. Come on vaccine!
Something pretty big that happened these last few weeks is that we have put Adam's ABA therapy on pause. He wasn't exactly clicking with his aide - she had been working with him since the end of August, and it was okay at the start, but the last three weeks or so had been pretty bad. He got downright angry when he saw her car pull up. We had a great chat with his BCBA and her manager, and as it turned out we didn't have to ask for them to consider a different aide because she had given her notice that same day! They didn't actually have anyone to replace her, so after some discussion we decided they would allow us to just take a break until after Christmas without actually terminating his spot. This is something they don't normally do because there are people on waitlists, but because of the unusual circumstances this just seemed to be the best solution for everyone. So far, it's been just over a week with no therapy and Adam has not skipped a beat - does not miss it at all. We will see how it goes after it's been 4 or 5 weeks, since he was 3 he has not been without therapy for that long! He was so happy when I told him we were taking a break from therapy, it's definitely a conflicting thing for us because we want him to feel light and happy, but also recognize that he has to work at some things a lot harder than other kids. We can't really just never challenge him. A tough spot to be in, but for now Brian and I are both at peace to just let him coast until Christmas and then re-evaluate what we should do.
We've had a fun few days! Thanksgiving was not what we are used to, we usually go to our friends the Davey's house, but this year it was a quiet dinner at home. We did swap some food so we each had a bit more variety which was really nice, our turkey turned out the best of all the turkeys I have every made! Yesterday was Brian's birthday, and the weather was really nice which was a treat. I had booked a private booking at We Rock the Spectrum for that afternoon, so we went there for an hour - the kids had a great time! Jasper was alone for the first time since March, and we could hear him howling away on the video. He survived, spoiled little guy! When we got home we put up the tree, and Adam even let us listen to Christmas music! Apparently he will tolerate us playing Christmas music on the Echo, what a treat!
One thing I haven't mentioned yet is that Brian had this whole last week off of work, a Thanksgiving treat for all the Facebook employees. We decided now was a good time to go and pick new furniture for the living room so we spent several days this last week at the La-Z-Boy store in Lynnwood. We ordered a sectional which will be great, but it won't get here for 4-6 months thanks to the pandemic. We've made it this far with our current furniture, I'm sure we'll survive a bit longer!
