Easter Sunday (Subtitled: Another reason to be sad that you don’t sit behind us at church)

During the sacrament Will crumpled a piece a paper.  He handed it to me with the instruction, “Trash.”  I took the paper from him and put it on the other side of me planning on throwing it away after the meeting.  Will reached around me grabbed the paper, stood up, walked down the aisle, bumped two deacons out his way and ran out of the chapel.  Since I knew where he was going I stayed in my seat.  Two minutes later he returned, bumped the same two deacons out his way made his way back to the pew and sat down beside me.

Later in the meeting, during a beautiful musical number,Will leaned over my lap and started chanting, "I'm cursed, I'm cursed!"  The people in the pew behind us started giggling.  I put my fingers over Will's mouth and tried to shush him.  He just peeled them off and started saying it again.  I looked down at the rest of my family.  Their shoulders were convulsing with laugher which was tremendously helpful because then Will realized he was sooo funny!

Well played Autism, well played!

I picked a good week to miss church

… Or so my husband informed me when I returned home.  The ward choir was making its way up to stand when Will stood up to go with them.  Now it’s not entirely unreasonable for Will to go up with them because I’ve had him sit by me during choir practice.  Since Will LOVES music, I thought maybe he’d like singing with the choir.  And I thought maybe if we started now in a few years he might be interested in actually singing along with a group, using the actual lyrics.  Since currently during choir practice he mostly practices pinching (he’s awesome at that) and asks if he can leave.  

Once, however, he sang along with the Ohhs – though not in tune despite his usually perfect pitch. 

Will never has willing gone up to the stand to sing with a group even though the primary children usually sing several times a year.  So I imagine my husband was surprised and well as concerned when Will stood up and tried to scoot past him.  My husband grabbed Will and held on.  Will finally sat back down.  … Then went the other way … over the family sitting next to us on the pew.  (No children were injured during his escape although some adults were squished.)

My husband followed Will up to the stand, the choir director looked at Will but bravely started.  My husband figured that Will probably just wanted to see the page number of the song they were going to sing and then would be willing to return to his seat but Will walked past the piano to the hymn number board.  There was a gap and the numbers needed to be moved up.  Will fixed it doubtless to the great relief of the congregation.

Later during singing time the children played a Wheel of Fortune game.  Will asked for a capital A.

Church

Today at church one of the speakers said that his favorite part of church was listening to hear what song William decided to sing. When I talked to him after church he asked if Will ever had play dates because he wanted his “kids to get to know Will and Will to get to know his kids.” I demurred from the play date because I thought it would be disappointing for them. Will would probably spend the whole time watching the previews on a DVD. But isn’t it great that he asked! So many people are intimidated by special needs that it’s always a pleasant surprise to meet someone who is not.

A Skipping CD

Yesterday at church Will was a little more disruptive than normal.  By which I mean he talked for an hour non-stop.  At one point he had an open hymnal in his lap, he would bang on it with his knuckles and say “The moose going by.”  After about ten minutes of that my husband bumped me and asked if I could fast forward the CD.

 

I thought about the best way to do that.  I tried flipping forward about fifty pages in the hymnal.  Will looked at me, turned back to the original pages and said, “Quick feet, quick feet, quick feet, quick feet, quick feet, quick feet.”  He then surprised me with a “We eat turkey.”  I have no idea where that came from.  Will spent the next twenty minutes saying, “The moose going by, quick feet” and an occasional “we eat turkey.”

I’m not sure I made it better.

She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain

Yesterday in church, Will felt “called upon to sing” she’ll be coming ‘round the mountain when she comes rather LOUDLY. It’s not so bad when he’s singing Love at home or I am a Child of God but certain songs disrupt everyone around and sure enough when I glanced around I saw shaking shoulders and giggles. My husband removed him from the pew before he got to the old red rooster verse with the accompanying chop, chop.

On the way home the kids sung the song to him. But I guess he was over it by then because he told them, “all done” to get them to stop singing.

"Feasting" on the Gospel

I looked down the pew at Jacob who was sucking on a dum dum. I mouth to him, “No Candy!” In response he slumps down and covers his mouth and the candy with his jacket.

I get it!

Will snuggled up to me and tilted my head to touch his. Looked me in the eye and firmly said, “All done.” I nodded to him and kept singing. “All done.” He repeated. I stopped singing and started giggling.