At least we tried!

This past Saturday the weather was very tolerable for late November. It was nearly 40 degrees at 5pm. We didn't have plans for the evening, so I suggested we go to the Hollidazzle Parade. We knew we would need assistance so we called my parents to see if they wanted to join us. Everyone was on board so we grabbed some pizzas, met at my parents and literally piled in the truck to head downtown. 

Cole has been to Hollidazzle, but it was before he was diagnosed. I think he may have been two years old. I remember we watched the parade from the skyway and Cole was very busy and hard to keep track of. I swore I would never take him again. 

We wanted to try again this year, not knowing how it would go. We had some good ammunition... Grandpa and Connor; two of Cole's biggest heroes. Cole has been into doing whatever Connor is doing and Grandpa can usually get Cole to cooperate and follow rules. 

The night started out well. Cole was so excited for a parade! He wore his snowpants and warm weather gear. He loved riding in Grandma's truck with Connor and cousin Elle by his side. He thought it was funny to see Daddy and Grandpa crawl in the way back. We arrived about 45 minutes before the parade to get a front row seat. We rode the elevator down the parking ramp... a big hit with Cole. Once we found our seats, Cole lost patience quickly. Daddy and Grandpa took him for a walk, but even after that we still had 20 minutes to wait. I bought him a cool light up toy and even that didn't entertain him. He kept saying, "Want people to go home. Want to watch inside.". There was no where inside to go (and the fact that he probably was remembering the skyway from nearly six years ago did not dawn on us). Somehow we managed to keep him relatively calm and more importantly, safe. 

Finally the first lighted float came down the street. Cole was less than impressed. He was starting to yell, "Go HOME.". We tried to keep him calm. Mommy snuggled him a lot. After a few more minutes, Cole took it upon himself to take off his boots, then his snowpants and finally his coat! At that point, it wasn't worth fighting. Thankfully we had two blankets so Cole was able to sit close to mommy and have fun making a fort. He did like the last float. It was the one with Santa. He waved and said quietly, "Hi Santa." That made it all worth while. 

Eventually Pat carried Cole back to the truck- sans his boots and winter gear. We all agreed it would be the last Hollidazzle for Cole. Not enough razzle-dazzle for him. 

I'm glad we tried to take Cole to the parade. It was so nice of my parents to come along and help. It made it easier. It is times like this when we are reminded of just how many little things we miss out on as family. There are countless things we can not do with Cole and I'll admit, it's hard. When you start a family, you have all of these visions of things you want to do with your kids and experiences you want to give to them. Autism has robbed our family of many of those things. I have accepted this but it still doesn't make it easier. I can say that we try our best and have found many things that Cole and Connor enjoy.

Cherish the times you have with your family. Take advantage and appreciate the little things- bike rides, family pictures, the movie theater, play dates, safe car rides, down-time, home projects, etc. They are life's treasures and should not be taken for granted.