These past two days mark the two most incredible days with Avery since before her regression, they also mark me completely flying off the handle for the first time in my life, and giving a really fun birthday party.
Let me start with Friday night. It was 1:00 am when I was awakened by the first elated "woo" coming from the screened-in front porch of my next door neighbor's house. I was dismayed. They are frequent partiers (about 3 or 4 all night parties a month at least) and I didn't feel like dealing with it tonight. The next hour was filled with more woo's and then thudding music through open windows. A.J. came into our room at about 2:00am and snuggled up with us and somehow fell asleep again. I didn't. I have never called the police on them before, but at 3 something I finally called the police to complain, and at 3:30 I heard them next door. They were all having a good laugh with the officer. Whatever. I was relieved when the music stopped and the yelling and laughing on the front porch seemed to quiet down. I fell asleep then, but was awakened again 10 minutes later when the music started again. I probably could have fallen asleep with only the music with the help of my noise maker, rainforest music, but it was the laughing and yelling and screaming and just loud loud talking, outside, that made it impossible to sleep. All I could think of was how much I had to do in the morning for the kid's birthday party. They had been so excited about it all week. I wanted it to be perfect and I had a huge list of things I had to race through in the morning to get everything ready for 3:00. But on no sleep, it was not going to be easy. I was worried that A.J. would wake up again so I called the police again. This time I said that I didn't know why the party wasn't stopped the last time I called. I guess it was 4 something when the police came out again. I heard the loud guy voice say, "Thank you Officer" After the police left nothing changed. They stayed outside talking loudly and laughing. But then I heard people leaving as they walked to their cars, yelling the ends of their stories to their friends on the front porch as they opened their car doors half way down the street.
I have to admit that by this time I was furious. I was so furious that I had indigestion (I'm such an old lady) and had to walk the floor to keep it at bay. All I could think of was, what kind of people simply ignored the police telling them that they were disturbing the neighbors and that they needed to keep it down.
I thought of when the police were called on me as a college student. I practiced my drums for about 5 hours that day with the windows open. Friends came in out out of the house to play with me, but then the police showed up and told me they had 6 complaints from the neighbors. There was a family that lived next door to me at the time and I suddenly realized I was probably disturbing them, not entertaining them. I was so embarrassed and stopped my drum session immediately and never played with the windows open again and never played for more than 45 minutes at a time...never after 10:00pm at night. So if I as a college student understood this, why couldn't these post college students, or, never college students next door not understand? How could they, after the police coming twice, just ignore the message to stop?
At 5:00am I couldn't take it anymore. I put on my husbands shorts and held them around my waist, I must have looked like a scarecrow, and walked outside to the front yard.
I screamed at them, "It is 5:00 in the morning!"
They kept talking loudly and didn't even look at me.
I screamed, "Listen to me, listen to me" at the top of my voice. They stopped talking and laughing and looked over at me in surprise. I screamed, "It is 5:00 in the morning. You have kept me and my family awake all f..cking night. So shut the f...k up and GO INSIDE. My kids are having a birthday party tomorrow and you have woken them up."(This probably wasn't very compelling at the time but it is what came out) Then I screamed, "Have some f..cking consideration!!!!!" and turned and walked inside.
When I got iside my indigestion, or gaul bladder or whatever the semi-frequent pain in my right shoulder blade is...was gone.
DH said from his pillow, "Well I think you got your point across."
I have to say that I was, and still am a little stunned at my tirade. I have never spoken to anyone like that. In fact, I have never even cussed at anyone before because I always thought that there are more creative words to express expectations and anger. But this, as I said, is what came out. Even now, I am not sure what I think about it. Oh, I have to say that they ignored me and stayed up and talked and laughed for another 20 minutes. I can only think that they must be used to yelling and cussing and so perhaps that didn't even phase them. Also, I think they were stoned, which I'm sure helped cut the shock of the next door neighbor suddenly unleashing a fury upon them. I am sure they only went to bed because the sun was coming up. I am still angry with them but have not figured out what to do next, be it going over and trying to have a real conversation or writing a letter of complaint to the police department and their landlord...or doing nothing. I don't know.
Anyway, the next day DH let me sleep in until 10:00am which was nice, I got 4 and a half hours of sleep. Then he and my dad watched the kids while mom and I first decorated the house to look like a fairy tale castle on the inside, then we raced around town buying 40 helium balloons and food for the party. Back at the house we had one hour to get dressed and make the food so we had friends make the sandwiches, cut into stars and put the chips in bowls and such.
An hour before the party the kids were wild with excitement. A.J. put on a princess dress and some silly silver shoes that her cousin gave her, which had dobs of pink feathers on them with fake gems glued on top of the fluff. She held a fairy wand and clomped around the house trying not to fall off her shoes. She was delighted and it was really funny. Guests started showing up early which was kind of annoying since I had been hoping to take a lightning shower. But, then everyone poured in and I had to turn on my organizing voice and get he first game going. We played, pass the parcel, which is a game I played as a child in England. There were 3 other children with autism at the party so it was not your usual game of pass the parcel. A.J. and her friends just pretty much wanted to hold onto the present once it was passed to them, rather than keep it going round the circle to the music till the music stopped. We managed it though and then I got them all outside for the pinyatta (sp????).
It just all seemed to go well. No one got smacked in the head with the pinyatta stick, no one cried. A,J. and Owen both loved having happy birthday sung to them and blowing out their candles. A.J. didn't even cover her ears which was amazing. My friend made the cakes as their gifts. They were the kid's favorite planets, "Jupiter and Saturn" and so they were balls of chocolate cake with ice cream inside. A.J.'s was GFCF with soy ice cream and Owen's was just plain old cake and ice cream. The cakes were a hit, and in the end, the kid's didn't want to leave when the party was over.
I have to say that the best part was that A.J. and Owen had so much fun, and I had fun and didn't get stressed out. A.J. was so happy and engaged and made tons of eye contact. She did go and get into bed a couple of times, but got out of bed five minutes later and came back to join the party. She put on 3 different costumes and paraded around in them.
I have to go to bed now. I will write about today and why it was so good...tomorrow.
I will quickly add though that I have to not stop probiotics if I want the b12 to do any good. Also, no more peanut butter. I am doing this...and she is doing awesome.
me.
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