Saturday was my birthday. Not only did James' dad get off from work, he even dressed up for me. He knows I am a sucker for the whole idea of formal-ish wear even at he park! In the morning, we went to the opening of an inclusive playground at 7 President's Park in Long Branch, NJ. His auntie is the director of the non-profit wing of the parks and she asked us to go. Although James was not pleased about the speeches and then waiting for the ribbon to be cut - he had a blast! We stayed about two hours, outlasting everyone. James has come such a long way. In the old days, we would have had to leave because he would not have waited or even understood having to wait. Besides, his attention span would not have held for the length of the speeches. He would have lost interest in the park well before the ribbon cutting. Saturday? He played ball with us outside the official tent! He also enjoyed watching a bigger boy playing football with his dad. When it was time to go into the playground, the entrance was very crowded but James didn't mind and/or care. After some initial trepidation, he trudged right through the crowd, patted his aunt in greeting, and kept moving! He tried everything, running around, up, down. Gorgeous playground, gorgeous morning! But the day didn't end there. We asked James if he was hungry and when he nodded, we told him we were going to eat out. We had brought his DVD player just in case (but only dreaming we could attempt a restaurant after a day in an unfamiliar park). But we decided to atleast TRY and headed back toward the beach house, to a local joint that James was familiar with. And well, we just went in and had a lovely birthday lunch! Can you believe it? James has never successfully "participated" in TWO activities in a day (other than school and therapy). It was the best tuna melt that I have ever had! What a birthday! Who says a non-verbal autistic kid can't independently give his mom a present?
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