The Never Normal

Today Andy and I have been married ten years.  We ate our annual delicious dinner at Lombardo’s when the respite sitter came.

But Jonah was awful, and it eclipsed everything.

He had an appointment at the eye doctor, and Andy and Jonah waited for 50 minutes before they were able to see her.  Shit, kids with autism can’t even wait for amusement park rides, let alone doctor appointments.  Why do they have those “move to the front of the line” passes for kids with autism at Disneyworld, but not at the doctor’s?   Jonah flopped on the floor and rolled back and forth.  He whined and he kicked.  He was loud.  People in the waiting room stared.   It was embarrassingly frustrating, and when the doctor finally examined him, it was hard for her to get a good look in his eye because he kept turning and twisting and crying.  There is too much pressure in his eye, she said, so she wants to see him again in a month.

Next week Andy is taking him to the hospital where he’ll be given anesthesia, simply to get his teeth cleaned and to fill a cavity.  Pretty soon they’ll have to put him to sleep just to look at his damn eye.

When Andy got him home, Jonah was still whiny and upset.  He does this thing lately when he is “emo” (emotional), where he wraps his arms around you in the tightest possible hug and smushes his face into yours, hard.   So Andy tried to just pry him off gently, but Jonah suddenly launched into an all-out tantrum and attacked, scratching him and screaming.  He snatched at Andy’s glasses, popping the lens out and twisting the frame, then, for an encore, he threw them across the room.   They’re broken now.  Andy fished out an old pair and, even though the respite sitter arrived, banished Jonah to his room until we returned home from dinner.

Needless to say, we did not linger, and there was no dessert.

Happy anniversary.