Pumpkin Patch

We were so lucky to be given tickets to Vala's Pumpkin Patch by Pediatric Therapy Center.  We decided to go on Friday!  It never dawned on me that it would be a good day for field trips!  But once you tell an obsessive child you are doing something and you get ready for it and you drive out there, it is to late to change the mind!  We were there!  Go for it! 

We are pretty prepared for all kinds of kid behavior and we are pretty prepared for being wet or hungry or needing a quiet zone.  The pumpkin patch can be a super fantastic place for any child but for a sensory child it can be both fantastic and frightening.  

He had so much fun riding the pony ride.  The soothing jostle of a slow circle, the smell of the horse, the feel of the beast under him, the quieter rhythm of the children on the other ponies.  He loved it!  The dark mine shaft we should have avoided.  Although not a scary place, just a silly depiction of a mine, he was not happy, squeezed my hand and in a shaky voice said we needed to hurry (we did).  The corn pit and jumpy pillows were an awesome diversion that he played in for a long time.  The pedal cars allowed for some serious gross motor movement! 

Unfortunately, I made a terrible mom mistake and sat him down to eat a pretzel.  He was so excited that focusing on eating was not happening.  I thought lunch time would be soon so we moved on.  And then I failed to feed him lunch.  What was I thinking?!  He was happy and busy and focused and never once complained. 

We rode the hay ride to the pumpkin patch where he found a pumpkin as big as he is and made daddy carry it back.  He found some smashed pumpkins to poke and smell.  He found some dirt to play in.  He found a playground and watched the giant puppets sing.  He smelled popcorn, pumpkins, apples,  the outhouse, animals & people!  Imagine all those smells for a boy who smells everything!  He stuck his face as close to a goat as he could and said the goat smelled like hay and cat food.  He passed by an outhouse and screamed it smelled like poop.  I just never know what is coming next!   It was ultimately an awesome day!  But the next time I looked at the time it was 2:15pm and he had not eaten.  The mom decision to leave to feed him was suddenly met with a meltdown.  That I handled by carrying a crying child out the pumpkin patch and feeding! 

All the plans in the world and I am human!  I forget things. 

My sensory child never complains about being hungry or thirsty or cold or hot.  He never says he has to go to the bathroom or that he needs to sit down.  He can wake up in the morning and keep the same level of energy all day, with no stops and no complaints.  On occasion this can be a good thing... we can ski all day in the winter and as long as I am mindful of how I've dressed him and check he will never complain about the cold.  I can take him to the pool all day in the summer and apply sunscreen and he will never complain about being tired or hungry or hot!  But I have to be the mindful adult to make him stop and eat or go to the toilet or sit down to just give his little body a break!  My sensory child will just keep going and going.  I often forget how he is "tuned in" to things I am not.  How he notices things I just ignore.  Not ignore them because I make a choice but ignore because I simply do not notice.  The world for my son is full of things I rarely notice.  And when I am forced to notice them, because he LOUDLY points them out I think how overwhelming it must be for him.  And I am so proud of him because he just doesn't complain... he just explores and is curious and questions.  What a brave little boy!  It makes me appreciate the things around me even more because I can see and smell them with him (even if sometimes I do not want to!). 

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Another AWESOME pumpkin patch was BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED.  A small drive south of Omaha but they have an incredible play area, shorter ride to pumpkin patch, smaller farm, less people.  Animals to see and feed.  The most delicious apple pie!  For Espen and his need to be on and in and around things, it was a great farm to take him to!  Except he was curious about how deep the water tank was for the cow and stuck his arm, coat and all into the tank so he had a wet sleeve for much of the day... all part of his process!