Right before Memorial Day, Bill and I made the decision to buy a travel trailer. We're not campers, but we do love to get away with just our little family. Before Aleks 'got sick' we use to travel more often. Since moving to MN and Aleks being diagnosed with autism we haven't gotten away like we would like to. For our Disney trip in March I had to ship a box of her food and pack several pounds of her organic/nitrate free frozen meat in my suitcase. Then we had to get a hotel suite with a kitchen so that we could cook. Needless to say it is a lot of extra work and a lot of extra money. Hence, the travel trailer with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and a great kitchen. This combined with her love of the outdoors has made camping a great decision for our family.
Now onto my little mermaid. Friday evening was absolutely beautiful here in MN. We were camping for just one night at a campground on a lake with a swim beach and a huge playground. Soon after we got there, we got Aleks in her bathing suit and headed on over to the beach. As soon as she saw the water and beach she was happy and running towards it. The beach was packed with other kids and families. The great thing is that now Aleks will run right up to any child and say 'hi' and introduce herself. One of the best memories is a very simple one. Aleks made a new friend at the beach. They played in the sand together and swam in the shallow water together. Bill and I sat holding hands in awe watching her sit in the lake, side by side with this little girl named Brianna. The two of them were in just a few inches of water, the sun was on their backs and they were just talking and laughing together. Then they took off in a crab like crawl in the water. I yelled for Aleks to be careful and not go too deep. To which she turned around and yelled, "It's okay Mommy, we're just pretending to be mermaids." I tear up as I write this for so many reasons, but the big ones are for new friends and pretend play. A concept so many autistic children struggle with and one she had no skills with just a year ago. Not the case today, today she is my little mermaid who makes new little mermaid friends.
xo
Melissa
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