Ice Skating, Girl Power, and Unconditional Love

I have to say my favorite summer tradition is our annual ice skating outing. Yes, ice skating in August! Can you think of a more creative way to beat the dog days of summer? Neither can I.

The girls and I dug out our winter hats and mittens, put on our jeans and headed over to the Chiller Skating Rink. Being August, it wasn’t very busy today… maybe 20 skaters, at best, including 3 pro hockey guys in their getup.

Sahara was glued to the wall, which was fine with me… she stopped at each bench and penalty box while her sister periodically came up from behind to say, “Hi” and offer a helping hand. It took Sahara 45 minutes to do one lap then she hesitantly stepped off of the rink. She amazed me as she walked on her skates without wobbling, which according to her IEP she shouldn’t be able to do.

(LEAPS AND BOUNDS!)

After she removed her skates we went to the balcony to watch Emily skate with confidence, pink cheeks, and a faint smile of pride. Emily twirled and sped across the ice with grace, not a common trait in this kid.

(Another moment of ACCOMPLSHEMENT filled me.)

As we headed to the car, Emily declared she was hungry. After lunch we headed over to the department store to get a jump start on school shopping. As we pulled up to the stop light, I had this urge I just had to heed to. I rolled down my window and freely yelled, “GIRLS ROCK!” Emily’s eyes got big and I heard a faint giggle…

“1, 2, 3… GIRL POWER!”

…we were laughing, shouting, and enjoying our girlhood to the fullest. Sahara participated from the backseat laughing as much as her sister did as she repeated “Girl Power”. For that moment we had no diagnosis in the car, no constraints from society, and no peer pressure… we were just innocently enjoying a mom and me outing celebrating our girl-ness.

We talked about how girls can do anything a boy can do (psst, sometimes better). This is something I think young girls often are not encouraged to do, but not today… today I told them they could be, do, and experience ANYTHING they decided to.

We talked about it being awesome that Emily loves science and math, and that girls can have those types of careers too. I even discovered that Emily secretly thought it would be really neat if her and her sister grew up to be Paleontologists working together on excavations.

HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?

Most siblings want to get as far away from each other as possible, but not my girls. I suppose that this is Emily’s way of saying that I shouldn’t worry about Sahara’s future. She often declares that Sahara and she will live together when they leave home, and sometimes I think that just might be the case.

This was evident half way through the store when Emily (out of the blue) declared, “I LOVE MY SISTER!!!” I looked over at her and smiled faintly, “I know you do and she loves you…”

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Barefoot and Naked... Is There Another Solution To Those Seams?!?!

We spontaneously ended up at a Metro Park this morning. We had breakfast at the lake while we watched the molting geese. Within minutes Sahara sat in water and was walking about in her underwear. Honestly, I was relieved that I convinced her to leave them on, but Emily was embarrassed… "It is okay," I reassured her, "I have another pair of dry shorts in the jeep. Let’s walk back to the jeep, change her, then we can go on a hike."

Crisis resolved.

Soon we found ourselves on a 1.7 mile nature trail. We were enveloped by nature and I have to admit it felt liberating! Emily was eager to declare that she thought she saw a deer everywhere she looked. I am not so sure she saw even one the whole way, but she will adamantly deny that. Sahara wanted to pick up every stick and smack every leaf with it. Emily tried to rush her sister, "Come on! Look it’s beautiful!" I am certain she didn't mean anything in particular, but it successfully motivated Sahara ahead another 20 feet before another stick caught her attention.

As she bent over to pick it up, she suddenly plopped down on the dirt path to pull at her sneakers, "Sahara, our shoes need to stay on if we are going for a walk." She huffed and puffed, stood up, and took another few steps before she sat down and tried to get them off again. "Sahara, our shoes and socks need to stay on if we are going for a walk."

Emily thought she heard a baby deer and went running to the observation deck. Sahara and I followed, but by the time we got there Emily was ready to head back up the nature trail. Sahara stopped, sat on the bench, and had her socks and shoes off before I could intervene this time. I convinced her to put the socks back on inside out. I was hoping the seams being off of her toes would put her at ease.

Another mile to go….

I had to place my hand on Sahara’s back to keep her moving, but it was maybe another several yards before the socks and shoes were off again. I persuaded her to put back on her shoes; the socks ended up in my backpack. This lasted for a bit, then the shoes were off again and she was on my shoulders for the last 1/2 mile.

After an hour and a half we found our way back to the jeep and made it home safely. As I reflect, I am grateful that we could connect with nature without incident. But, I also am acutely aware that the whole sock and shoe issues disrupted the flow of the hike. Having a child who experiences sensory issues brings all sorts of challenges.

Certainly, fuzzy socks and rough seams go unnoticed by many. But, for a child with sensory issues, it is like sandpaper on your toes or your unmentionables. (Can you imagine?) Most days, regardless of the time of year, my daughter is barefoot and naked in order to be comfortable. We have, however, recently discovered that she will wear a dress without underwear and that seems to have adverted the whole unmentionables issue (for now).

I have, also, recently connected with a company, SmartKnitKIDS, on twitter that make seamless socks. I have to admit I haven’t tried them yet, but plan to place an order after we move. (I don’t want something that precious to get lost in the mail.) SmartKnitKIDS also just let me know that are working on a prototype for underwear. I have to admit that I have never been so excited about ordering underwear and socks!

If any of my readers have tried SmartKnitKIDS products please let me know your experience. I look forward to ordering both products in the near future and will be certain to write a product review. In the meantime, I am excited about the potential that Sahara may be able to wear these necessary clothing items with freedom from the inevitable seams that interfere with her daily activities!!

(PSST…they are offering a Back To School Contest you might be interested in. )
　
　

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