What I did on summer break: Special needs parents edition

What you do during summer "break" when you're a special needs parent:

• Get child dressed
• Attempt to get child to eat something other than Chocolate Rice Krispies for breakfast
• Give up and give him the Chocolate Rice Krispies; encourage self-feeding
• Remind child not to repeatedly kick table legs
• Give up and let him kick table legs
• Wonder how you are going to spend the entire day and vow not to let him watch too much TV
• Repeat child's favorite catchphrase and/or answer same question from child eleventy billion times in a row, then do it again an hour later
• Settle child in front of TV so you can have a little time to yourself
• Spend said time to yourself chatting with insurance company rep about errant bills and payments
• Drag child away from TV and take a walk
• Make a couple of therapy/doctor appointments on cell phone as you stroll
• Call the pharmacy, while you're at it, to reorder child's meds
• Repeat child's favorite catchphrase and/or answer same question from child eleventy billion times in a row, then do it again an hour later
• Serve child lunch; encourage self-feeding
• Remind child not to repeatedly kick table legs
• Give up and let him kick the table legs
• Take a quick, much-needed break and spend it by tracking down copies you made of insurance claims sent because you knew something would get lost
• Play with toys or games for five minutes and/or until child's attention wanes
• Consider doing some of the therapeutic exercises the therapists have recommended and decide they can wait until tomorrow
• Google "Summer activity ideas for kids with special needs"
• Decide most of the activities require too much effort, place child in old-t-shirt, head outside, put on sprinkler, done
• Sit on lawn chair and wonder what sort of more stimulating activities other special needs parents are doing with their kids
• Stare down at toes and try to remember when the last time was that you got a pedicure
• Head out in car to get ice-cream and pray there's no long line that could lead to a meltdown
• Aimlessly drive around your neighborhood
• Repeat child's favorite catchphrase and/or answer same question from child eleventy billion times in a row, then do it again an hour later
• Stop by the library and slightly despair that your kid ends up parked in front of the computer for an hour instead of exploring books
• Check out books to read at bedtime/make yourself feel better about the computer time
• Serve child dinner; encourage self-feeding
• Remind child not to repeatedly kick table legs
• Give up and let him kick the table legs
• Let child watch more TV. Wonder how much TV the other special needs parents let their kids watch.
• Give child bath, get dressed for bed.
• Read one of the books from the library and feel slightly better about having done something educational, no matter if the book was "The Story of Farts"
• Kiss child goodnight. Sit down at kitchen table and stare vacantly into space.
• Treat yourself to a piece of chocolate and an iced tea, because you are extravagant that way
• Feel a little guilty about how psyched you are that his Extended School Year program starts again in a couple of weeks...but not that guilty.

Image source: Flickr/obvio171