Thanksgiving is over!
It’s officially Christmas time.
It is not the stores, radio, or television programming that sets the
time for me. It is a family tradition
carried from childhood. The day after
Thanksgiving may be black Friday for others but for me it is the first day of
playing Christmas music. I love it! I also love sappy Christmas movies. One or the other will be playing in the
background for the next month.
Other things about Christmas are not so easy or so fun. It marks the turning of weather which always
meant Maddie’s ability to go outside changed, too. With her body temperature issues trips
outside were limited. It also meant
needing to get Christmas presents. The
two are tied together for me. I always
wanted to find things to help Maddie enjoy the long few months ahead. So her gifts always included warm clothes and
a pile of books. That wasn’t enough for
me. I wanted to get her something that
she would really love; something that did something amazing.
One year I found a sled with a curved back brace support in
an L.L. Bean catalogue. I showed it to
one of the nurses who agreed it was a great idea. So I paid a whopping amount and purchases a
bunch of hand warmers to help keep her warm.
I was so excited! Maddie not so
much. But then she had never ridden a
sled and I had spent have my childhood flying down the hill in front of the
courthouse in our small town. I just
knew once she did it she would love it.
So a few days after Christmas, on a sort of warm day I got
Maddie ready. Out we went with the dog
jumping around us. I set Maddie on the
blanket lined sled. She looked at me
like I had just set her in cold bath water.
I started pulling her on her sled across the yard. I didn’t even get to the drive way before she
started screaming. About the only time Maddie
would cry at that age was when her g or j-tube got pulled out. And this was not crying, this was screaming! The dog looked at me like I torturing the
poor child and starts barking at me. It
was clear our little sledding adventure was done. So much for the expensive gift that was
supposed to bring my child joy.
Over the years I learned a few things. Even if I enjoyed something as a child, it
did not mean Maddie would. Maddie didn’t
like the sled or dolls or Silly Putty.
She liked switch toys, music I didn’t know, and fingernail polish. I think the gift that she loved the most was
the year a friend and I turned her ceiling into a fairy garden. But the things she loved the most about
Christmas were the music and the sappy movies.
Now that I have confessed what a poor judge of presents for
my own child I was, I offer an article about buying gifts for children with
significant specials needs. It might be
helpful to you or to others wanting to get fun gifts.
"Please, No Stuffed Animals: Buying Gifts for Children with Significant Special Needs"
http://creativespirit63.hubpages.com/_21w151xherrsj/hub/Please-No-Stuffed-Animals-Buying-Gifts-for-Children-with-Significant-Special-Needs#comment-11113752
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