Success

Irina had a day off from school, and her older sister Zoe wanted to take her to see a movie. Of course I love that she wanted to spend time with her little sister, but I was honestly nervous. As I shared before, Irina has Autism and can be significantly challenging. On a recent outing to Target, we had to make a quick exit where an epic meltdown occurred on the drive home (Irina had the meltdown. I cried.)

So I dropped them off at the theater, and went to a store in the same shopping center. Just in case. It went well! Irina was a little loud, and very excited, but she made it through the movie! Unfortunately, I didn't plan well. The movie ended at lunchtime, and despite eating plenty of popcorn, Irina wanted lunch. Now. She was not happy upon the refusal to go to McDonald's. She protested loudly the entire ride home. However, she did NOT have a meltdown!  She had lunch at home, and was able to reset and have a good afternoon. This is really significant progress! It's truly the "normal" everyday things that Autism parents don't take for granted.