Getting Mikey Excited To Move

Well, we've been talking about it for about 6 months now. The big day is only a few weeks off. The last week of March, while Jason is on vacation and Mikey is out of school for Spring Break, we'll be moving from Deltona, back to Orlando.

In a very lucky move for us, we'll be taking over Dad and Cindy's place, as they prepare for their new home in North Carolina. It will save us considerable money, and we'll be closer to alot of family. I'll be watching my niece to help my step-sister (a single mom) out during the day. Jason will be closer to work, which is less gas and less wear and tear on our already failing car.

All in all it's a win-win. Except for one thing. Mikey. Being autistic, change is one of the hardest things he has to deal with. New things cause him lots of anxiety. He likes routine, predictability, and stability. Take this school year for example. It's been nothing but hard for him. Going from three years of the same teacher, routine, and classroom to a totally new setting and well.. you guys have read most of my posts on how its gone.

The last few weeks to a month or so he has gotten worse and I know its because of anxiety about the move. There's just no way around it, but arguing and fighting with him about it wasn't doing either of us ANY good. I needed to find a way, on his level, to get him excited about it.. at least PART of it.

First off.. make the new house look as much like the old house as possible. While Mikey is angling for the same color paint in the living room (a feat I am not even sure is possible), I have agreed to set his bedroom up exactly like it is here. Bedroom, bookcase, etc all in the same place.. posters up the same way.. shelves, etc. Same with Heather's room, except we'll be replacing the crib she only slept in for a few months with a new big girl bed.

Same for the living room too, as much as we can. Another thing that he is excited about, is helping us pick out NEW things for the house. The kids bathroom has been Spiderman themed since before Heather was born. I asked him if he'd like to help me pick all ALL NEW stuff for their bathroom and he was way more into that then I thought he'd be. He said he wanted to help us pick out EVERYTHING for the new house. Well, ok.

These things are somewhat small in the grand scheme but anything is something. He will be at a whole new school (and not the one I thought he'd go to) and I don't expect it to go well. Perhaps the summer will make things a little easier for him, but I take what I can get.