VI

Well, we made it to 6! As of 5:03 PM, Greyson is officially 6 years old. He has grown so much this year- both physically and with skills he has developed. This time last year, we were still having frequent daily tantrums and severe self-injury. This year, he has learned how to use a communication book, point to specific things he wants and has had the least amount of self-injury since he was 2.

The fact that our boy is getting so big, makes me sad because I know we are one year closer to the day we will no longer have Greyson living with us. Now I know all kids with Autism don’t necessarily end up in group home settings, but Derek and I are realistic people and we both understand that there will be a point when Greyson will have many more needs than we can provide. Not to mention the fact that he’s going to be a taller and stronger boy by the time that all happens. We need to be sure we can protect Roslynn and ourselves. Unless there’s a huge medical breakthrough and he is able to control his impulsiveness and aggression, we know he will need to be placed somewhere. That’s for the far future, so we will worry about that bridge once we need to cross it.

This week, we are in Hilton Head Island, for our semi-annual family vacation. We were here last in June 2019 (thanks COVID and Mom’s illness), and are making up for lots of lost relaxation time. So far, Greyson has really enjoyed sitting on the beach, jumping over waves and swimming in the pool. Our first full day down the the beach was yesterday and despite having sunscreen on, and reapplying, Roslynn and I both got pretty severely sunburned. We will most likely go into the plaza today to shop and walk around before we pick up Greyson’s birthday cake for this evening.

I definitely underestimated the strength of the sun here in SC, so taking a small amount of time away from the sun today, is much needed. Looking forward to seeing Greyson dig into his cake and I am excited to see what fun things that his 6th year brings.