A Date With Blake

 Blake has autism, ADHD,  anxiety, a learning disability in language and speech delays.  This was officially diagnosed in April of this year.  It's all a bit overwhelming.....he is a bit overwhelming.  You ask him a question and he freezes up.  I don't know if he freezes with anxiety that he will give the wrong answer, doesn't know the answer, or what's going through his little mind. He needs a ridiculous amount of time to think, to answer questions....or even make a decision. He often says and does things that are socially inappropriate.  This drives me crazy.  On the other hand he can also be endearing, funny, loving and very creative.

Last weekend Larry took Jordan halibut fishing with a buddy of his.  I decided that Blake and I needed to do something fun too.

My parents were headed to Hope to go metal detecting (my dad's current obsession... I mean hobby) and we decided that it would be fun to go too.

When we talked this over,  Blake was so excited:  "I always wanted to go metal detecting!"  The day before, we went knee boarding on our lake and he made sure everyone knew he could go on the boat today,  but tomorrow he can't go fishing because he is going metal detecting.

Blake spent a bit of the drive to Hope worrying about bugs (an area of serious anxiety for him).  To get his mind off of bugs we played "I Spy" and sang songs.

Once we got there,  I put bug dope and a bug shirt on him and sent him off to find treasures with Grandpa's metal detector (Blake says this word with a "b" at the beginning...it's kinda cute.)

Mom and I went around, each armed with a metal detector.  We both dug up a lot of old garbage.

When we caught up with Blake,  he had found over a dollar in pocket change.  I later watched Grandpa planting coins under rocks.

I'm happy to report that Blake didn't stress too much about the bugs!  It wasn't too buggy and he was absorbed in the task at hand.

It was a great day with Blake and my parents.  It was nice to spend time with him and not have his anxiety and language barriers dictate the mood of the day.

I am happy to report he brought home $1.19.  He promptly lost over 75¢ in Grandma and Grandpa's car on the ride home.  I can't believe that didn't result in a melt-down!