When I asked B to pack a bag of things to do, he packed recyclables, double sided tape and my good scissors. I'm still trying to figure out how he found them! I packed his iPad, an extra battery and the hot spot.
Things did not start off great. We had barely left the neighborhood when B had a mini-meltdown. He couldn't figure out how to sleep in the back seat with his pillow and not have the seatbelt cut into him. We stopped for lunch and I showed him how to set everything up. But still, not a good sign.
We try to stay in places with suites so we can all stay in one room and maybe get B a little privacy. This time we stayed in an extended stay style hotel. The room was big with 2 queen beds, a pull out couch and a kitchenette. It also had more cabinets than any hotel I'd ever been in. B was amazed at one of the large cabinets and declared it his.
I thought this meant he was simply store his stuff there. Nope. He intended to sleep there. He was thrilled that he fit so nicely. I know he likes to be in tight spaces, it's a sensory thing, so I didn't argue. He slept there for about an hour the first night and a couple of hours the second night before getting out and getting into bed.
You might be thinking at this point, "What an awful mom! She let her kid sleep in a cabinet! That's so Harry Potter!" Don't worry, it's nothing I haven't said to myself. But B is not your average kiddo. I try to do what's best for him. Getting into a cabinet (with the doors open) is good for him.
Traveling is hard for him. He's out of his element and totally over stimulated. Road trips for sports is a double whammy. He's away from home and expected hang out for long stretches at games. Games are hard for him, especially in the summer. It's hot. It can be hectic and long. There are lots of opportunities to wander away. Road trips can be an autism land mine. So if crawling in a cabinet can help him relax, I say go for it!
I do want to tell you about the ride home. Before we pulled out, I set the navigation system to our home address. Ryan was a little confused. He knew how to get home. But the system will tell you how much longer you have and what time you should arrive. After B took a little nap, he wanted to know when we'd be home. 5 minutes later, he wanted to know when we'd be home. 10 minutes later he wanted to know when we'd be home. We told him he couldn't ask for 30 minutes. 10 minutes later he asked if it had been 30 minutes. Each time I pressed the button to check our time on the navigation I gave Ryan a sly smile. Momma knows!
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