If She Could Just Stay Little!

If she could just stay little

“One for the kiddie Corral,”  I said to the lady behind the counter. 

Who is it for?”  She asked. 

“My daughter,” I answered pointing to Naomi.

“I think she’s too big,” She said

I felt a jolt of panic “She is?”

“You have to be shorter than that pole over there,” She said pointing

I shuffled Naomi over to the pole.  She wouldn’t say still so it was hard to say for sure, but she was probably a tad taller than the pole.

“Can we please just do it this time?”  I said with pleading eyes.  “I won’t ask for it again.”

She shrugged, took my $4.00 and handed me a wristband.  “Just tell her to be very careful.”

This would be our last visit to Miller’s Dairy Farm.  It’s a place that Naomi likes to visit.  We buy ice cream, feed the goats, and get a pass for the Kiddie Corral, where they have a bounce house and recreational toys for kids.  Apparently Naomi was now too big.  Explaining why she doesn’t qualify for entry will not go over well.  It’ll be easier to simply stop going to Miller’s Farm.    

I see this happening more and more.  My daughter is cognitively set for toddler activities, but she’s not a toddler size.  She likes tiny little girls, but they are afraid of her because she is so much bigger.   There are no “mommy and me” open gyms for 7 year olds. She’s getting too big for story time at the library, the play area at the mall, the equipment at public parks and the kiddie area at amusement parks.     On top of it being hard for her to understand why this is, there is nothing with which to replace these events.  If she could just stay little, I could handle this better but she’s getting bigger.  We just start to get used to this autism thing and then those activities and places you’ve grown to love and count on aren’t options any more.  We’re just going to have to find a way to cope.

I know what someone out there is thinking.  “Just wait until she hits puberty!”  Yeah!  I know.  *Sigh*  For now, I’ll just mourn the passing of our visits to Miller Farm and hope we can find some alternatives.  That’s all I can handle today.