A day in the life of a special needs parent: The walk to a VBS meeting

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

I wanted to walk to church for the vacation bible school meeting for volunteers. I haven't volunteered for anything in a while. I finally heard from the media ministry to volunteer with them. Since VBS has special needs class all week, I volunteered. I can help out, while getting a break from my kids. Of course, they can learn something too.

I took my kids plus my annoying great niece. She was a handful. When I started to leave the house, she came outside with us and refused to go back in the house. So I took her with me anyway, despite reservations. We got a few feet down the street before she wanted to go back home.

I let her run back home (house was still in viewing distance, a few houses a way). I was waiting for the doors to open and close to know she is in the house safe. The doors never opened and she ran from in the middle of my mama car and her mama car and ran back to us. I told her I am not turning back around if I get further up and she wants to go back home. A few feet up (still on my residential street), she wants to go back home, but house was too far away, so she was tagging along, whether she wanted to or not.

I had to be at the church around  6 and it takes 30-50 minutes to walk there with kids, but we had to get off my street; turn on another curvy road; walk down the main street into the neighborhood; cross the street; walk a few more feet until we reach gravel (which goes to the back of the church) and find an open door to the church and head to the meeting.

She cried the whole time.

#sariyah #greatniece crying lol #noturningback if you want to go home , then don't tag along

A video posted by Stacie D Wyatt (@sdwyatt1980) on Jun 16, 2016 at 9:58am PDT

I want to go home. I want my mama. That is not my concern. You turned back like Lot's wife and returned. My kids was acting better than her.

We got to church. They drunk up most of my water, I brought for the trip.  I went to the meeting. Kids acted decent for the most part. Since the walk was extra long, I was in no rush to get back home. I knew Wednesdays are bible study, but I never been to a Wed. night bible study because I heard the special needs teachers are not there every week.

I saw one of their teachers in the meeting and asked her afterwards if she was staying. She said no. I grabbed up the kids, refilled my water bottles, and started to walk back towards the exit. I saw another special needs parent walking into services without her kid and asked where he was. If he was in class, I can drop mine off and drop niece off in her class. The other mother dropped her son off in the 1 year old class room with a former teacher of Kalen's. I asked Ms. T. if she could keep Brad and Kalen, while I went to service, she said yes, but Brad wasn't having any of this.

He kept trying to follow me. I guess he figured the 1 year old class was not his regular class. No computer either, but plenty of toys. I gave him my phone but he still was trying to leave, so I stayed.

The class was not as bad as I thought. Brad played on my phone, while Kalen ran around playing with various toys. Both of them turned down snacks.

I had fun interacting with the other kids. They did not act up either. Many of them did not talk much, except one little cutie, who seemed more advanced. She was talkative and she knew animal sounds during the bible story reading. When she talked, the other kids repeated her.

Like when the kids was looking at the fish tanks and we was ready to go, she said bye fishes and I heard a whole chorus of bye fishes from the other kids, except mine.

We walked home but not all the way. My mama saw us walking (we called first, but she said walk home since if she left, other people may want to ride with her and ask her to do stuff) and we caught a ride the rest of the way home.

Sariyah, the great niece, did great in her class as well.