eating cereal off the floor before dawn

This morning I hurry to get out of bed, go to the bathroom and brush my teeth before autism reeks havoc.  As it happens most mornings, I am too late.  In the three minutes it took for me to complete my inescapable tasks, Brandon has unlocked the cabinet containing cereal, opened a box, grabbed a fistful of frosted flakes, made his way to the living room to turn on the TV – leaving a trail of flakes in his wake, turns on the TV, shoves the remaining cereal in his mouth and empties a box of kleenex in order to have the empty box for himself.

I took a deep breath, reminded myself that showing frustration at this point would illicit a meltdown…from Brandon or from me.  I quickly unlock the medicine cabinet and snatch my medicine off the shelf.  Opening the bottle, I catch a glimpse of Brandon coming out of my room.  He was just standing behind me 5 seconds ago.  He had a handful of gallon ziplock bags that I thought I had hidden in my room.  When he realized I was looking at him, he started yowling, waking the baby.  I managed to give Brandon his pill (which he readily accepts and takes), assure him that I am not mad at him, take the storage bags from his hand, and do an end run around the kitchen island to the baby’s room in record time.

During the time it took me to change the baby’s diaper, Brandon managed to spill the entire box of frosted flakes in the floor when he grabbed another fistful of cereal and was busy trying to eat the evidence when I walked back to the kitchen.  I praised him for cleaning up his mess but reminded him that we don’t eat cereal off the floor.  I was even able to convince him to sit with the baby and I to watch Mickey Mouse while his medicine kicked in.  and the sun just came up.