Have you ever seen those silly Mastercard commercials? The ones that list out the price of things and at the end say something mushy is priceless? Well this is like that…
On Saturday, we took PanKwake to Legoland…and it was one of the best days EVER!
We got up early and took a bus to Waterloo and a train from there. We arrived just as the park opened. Cost of tickets…£96.60.
Now we always get her souvenirs first. Those are important to her because she has trouble with visual memory so she actually needs things as well as pictures to cue her memory to events. But if you wait until the end and go to a packed out shop it is just too much for her. She is already tired and not thinking well. So we tackle it while she is fresh. Cost…£25.
Then we were off…up, up and away. We began with a rafting ride in Viking land…
That’s my little flower…the rest of us got soaked because we had not worn our big yellow garbage bags with the Legoland symbol on them.
Oh…pause to shout out to Legoland for their BRILLIANT program for special needs families. They issue you ten coupons that allow you to skip to the front of the line. For those with autism for whom waiting is so difficult, it is the difference between the best day ever and meltdowns.
There were loads of other rides in there too…but I want to tell you about the Dragon’s Apprentice. It is the kiddie roller coaster that PanKwake forces me to ride. Last time I shared the horrid picture of me on it…so fair enough…here is this one…with the Cookie Monster…
Those pics were another £30 by the way…
But what happened when we got off…that was…PRICELE$$!!!!
PanKwake HUGGED me!
Now to most parents, the good ones anyway, that is a daily occurrence. But PanKwake because of the sensory issues associated with the autism cannot tolerate touch well. I cannot even remember the last time that my daughter hugged me. So even though it was only a couple of seconds as we exited that ride…it truly was a priceless moment for this autism Mom. I even cried. Of course, I did not dare mention it to PanKwake…or it would be even longer before I got the next one.
If that was not enough we made it through the whole day and all the way home on a packed train full of drunken rugby fans with only one tiny meltdown that was over almost before it began.
Amusement parks are a challenge for all children…and parents. Even ‘normal’ kids often have huge meltdowns by the end of the day. So for PanKwake to do this was truly remarkable.
Total cost of the trip…well I did not even include the train tickets, the huge bag of her special food and drinks that I lugged around the whole park, or her carer…so probably close to £300.
But that once every five years hug…to this autism Mom anyway…truly was worth every cent/pence…and…PRICELESS.
Tara Cox - Literary Erotica 