Trying to outsmart my almost 24 year old son with Down syndrome has become my obsession. Yes, I realize that this might be considered a twisted issue, but no one ever accused me of operating with a full deck. Bailey is constantly keeping me on my game. At this point, I am losing leverage.
The battle is getting him to go to bed at a decent time during the week. He works a job where is on his feet most of the day and because of his diagnosis, he tires easily. This delightful individual has been known to stay up most of the night. Then the world pays for it the next day. Anyway, I had a brilliant idea of nipping this issue. I started scheduling text messages that would be delivered at the hour he is to be in bed. A simple, “Go to bed”, is sent while I am sawing logs. The concept centers around him thinking that I am still awake which would motivate him to get his ass to bed in an effort not to hear my constant verbal reminders. He always responds immediately with an “Okay. Thanks Mom. Goodnight”.
Last night, I realized that he has outsmarted me once again. I just happen to be up as the Bassets decided that at 11 pm, they needed to go potty. As I was putting the leashes on them, I noticed that his door was still open indicating that my darling son was still awake.
“Bailey, go to bed. You were suppose to be in bed by 10 pm.”
“Mom, I am getting ready now.”
“So, it takes an hour for you to get ready for bed?”
“Mom, don’t you have something to do? I thought you were asleep.”
And there you have it, my friends. My attempt to outsmart him has failed. At every turn, he one ups me. Maybe I should ask him his secret. The whole time that I thought I was so brilliant with this campaign of getting him to bed on time, he was yanking my chain. He probably future scheduled his text messages too. Christ on a cracker. Parenting is hard enough, but when you layer it with a genetic component, you must up your game. My creative out-of-the-box ideas are at an all time low.
So, I have decided that I am stepping back. I am exhausted from the battles that he and I engage in on a daily basis. Maybe natural consequences are in order. Besides, I probably need time to recover from my head injury that I have sustained as a result of banging my head against the wall.
Recent Comments