Free Events

*Blows dust off*

It's been a while.  A loooong while.  I'll be honest, I forgot.  And so much has happened that I would have loved to share!  But I'm back now and I will be making an effort to write on a more regular basis because there is lots of stuff going on in our lives that fits here perfectly!  Such as our outings.

The local philharmonic orchestra puts on free concerts in the summer.  They're not the same as their paid concerts throughout the year, they're much smaller ensembles made of orchestra members at a local park.  There is usually a theme and some (sometimes lots) of audience interaction.  As part of these events they arrive early and set up a table with a bunch of instruments for people (kids) to try.  It gets them interested in music and they get to promote their concert season.

These events are great fun for us.  We get to go to the park and relax, which is much appreciated when it is often hotter inside our home than outside, and enjoy some good music.  Because it is outdoors they encourage you to bring a picnic and often have a food truck or other food vendors there.  It is a very informal setting so it is ok to take pictures and record the performance (they encourage you to do so and post it on the appropriate Facebook pages) and you can chitchat a little during the performance.  It is a great way to expose our son to different kinds of music.  If we had the money I'd have season tickets for all three of us to their regular concert series, but good entertainment can be pricey.  This way he gets the exposure to music and to the socialization of a performance.  It can be difficult for him to sit quietly for an extended period of time just listening so when I see he is getting antsy I give him something to go throw in the trash.  The little run is enough to expel some energy.  If he has questions he can ask me and it is not considered disruptive.

We (I) really enjoy these events, starting before we even leave our house.  I like watching, sometimes helping, my wife prepare the picnic food.  It's usually not much and never anything fancy but there is something about making food that will be eaten at a park that excites me.  Maybe it's because I never got to do anything like this growing up or until we started attending these events.  Once we get to the park, with our food and chairs, I like finding a spot to set up and enjoy just being before the show begins.  Sometimes we talk, sometimes I just observe the others.  If the instrument table is set up, I like taking our son to it and seeing him try out all the instruments.

There is nothing like live music and these little concerts don't disappoint.  The last one we went to was a jazz concert and it was really good.  We took potato salad and bought bacon wrapped hot dogs at the park.  It was warm but there was a nice breeze and being in the evening made it really nice temperature wise.  Our son enjoyed trying the instruments again I think he likes being able to do things like this where there aren't a lot of social rules to follow.

We are fortunate to have free events available in our city and it is something we like to do as much as possible.  It's a great opportunity to be out as a family without a set end goal.  Since they are free we don't have the pressure of trying to get the most out of the experience to "get our money's worth" and can just let it happen.  And it is during these free events, when everyone there is simply trying to enjoy the show, that it is the most obvious that we are not any different than most families.

Trying out instruments, creating instruments,
and learning to conduct. (Different Events)

Our (Sort Of) Typical Day

I took the day off from work today.  We had an appointment to go get the results from some evaluations our son had and we both wanted to be there.  Usually, unless both parents have to be there, my wife takes our son to his appointments while I'm at work.  Ideally, I would be able to get all his appointments after 5:30 pm, within walking distance from my work, and there would be an extra 2-3 hours added in the day so that we had enough time to go home, finish school work, spend some quality time together and get to bed, just so that I could attend all his appointments.  It's hard to hear everything second hand, hoping I understood everything correctly and making the guilt be quiet.  But it's just occupational therapy, he isn't missing me.

Anyway, today we went to get results and I went to his Thursday OT appointment for the first time. I got to meet his therapist and see what she does with him, which is different from the Tuesday OT (which I do get to go to since it is at 5:30pm and within walking distance from my work).  I was happy to get to do that!

However, the day was more difficult than most.  Our son has Asperger's, which we have known for a while, amongst other issues (which is why he gets different therapies).  His various issues compound each other and, with the lack of social understanding from the Autism, create some challenging behavioural issues.  Some days are better than others.  Today was one of the worst days we've had in a while.  What's worse is that we haven't been able to figure out what causes this, what the triggers are, so we can't really anticipate or prevent it.  Something as simple as "stop jumping around" become draining events.  If I didn't know any better I'd think someone gave him an energy drink.

We made it through the morning and, after figuring out how to put on his shoes, were able to leave on time to get his evaluation results.  Nothing new was noted, high functioning autism (previously known as Asperger's) and now we try to get him more help at school.  We made it back home and had lunch.  My wife made a quick run to the grocery store down the block for some stuff we can only get there while I did some school work with our son.  After she came back, we rested for a little while before heading to the OT.  After OT we went to our regular grocery store, which is a bit further but has much better prices and variety, and then went back home in time for dinner.  Some more school work after dinner and then more just "being" before bedtime.

The heat makes us very lame right now, we just want to sit near the AC and not do much of anything.  I did sort of rush through the description of the day but I just wanted to give the overall picture of it.  I'll describe us being not so lame in future posts.  But I can't promise excitement, we're not reality show material.