The lights just turned on in my bedroom, it's 8am. Hmmm….I normally sleep until I wake up. Something suspicious is going on. What could it be? Do I have a visitor? Maybe it’s Mom and Dad? Maybe we have a new staff member who doesn’t know how this normally works? Nope, it’s Lovia speaking to me in her unusually happy singing voice. Oh no, something very bad must be happening today. What could it be?
Is it the Doctor or Dentist or another scary building with strangers?!
In my mind, the only response to this early wakeup call is to resist everything. I don’t know for sure what’s in store for me, but it feels like the world might be ending so I may as well fight like hell and resist everyone and everything happening. I don’t like being out of my comfort zone or my routine. In my mind, nothing good can come of this and my God given survival instincts take over. There’s nothing I can do to stop this feeling. I’m terrified. Nothing you say or do will change it. Not now, not next year, not ten years from now. This is not part of my normal routine, and I will fight days like this until my last breath!
As I mill around my bedroom anxiously stomping my feet and trying to figure out my next move, I hear that singing voice again. “Danielle, it’s time to get dressed”. I spring into action, strategically plotting my course. My resistance will be strong and forceful today. Lovia is a tough match, an extremely experienced caretaker and my best friend and ally. My best bet is to convince her that we should NOT get dressed right now and instead find something more fun to do, like take a bath. Yes, that’s it, I know I can’t overcome Lovia’s vast experience with my usual stomping-squatting-spitting tactics that send rookie caretakers into a tailspin, so I must cajole Lovia into feeling sorry for me. It’s my way of saying, “Please Lovia, save me from the terror, and grant me this bath!”.
Lovia left the room. She must be distracted by my roommate, Becca, who lives down the hall. What an opportunity, I sprint to the bathroom, buck naked. At 55 lbs., I look like those Olympic long-distance runners. My speed and agility are one of my biggest advantages in life, and I know it. It’s a race against time to get into that bathtub before anyone figures out what I’m up to. I turn on the water. No permission needed…this is survival mode! The tub can’t fill fast enough and I’m debating whether to hop-in but the tub is not full yet. This is a dilemma. Anything out of “routine” is very uncomfortable for me. Tough call. I stand there for a moment contemplating my next move.
Sure enough, Lovia races through the doorway, “Danielle, what are you doing?” “We’re not taking a bath right now. It’s time to get dressed!” She sounds upset. Lovia is also like a second Mom to me, so it’s probably best I listen to her. The drama is over. It ends as it has thousands of times before, a failed attempt at a bath instead of whatever evil awaits me after I get dressed.
My Mom and Dad show up at the door and I’m instantly happy again, I’m now rushing for my jacket and waving bye to Lovia. Maybe it’s not going to be a bad day after all…I love when I get to go home with Mom and Dad…but still why so early? I pull Dad by the hand and out the door. I crawl into my seat, seat belt myself in and off we go. I know the routes well to all my favorite places. I’m singing and looking out the window the entire time. I notice quickly we are not going home but maybe to Michael’s, my big brothers, which is a lot of fun too except for those big dogs always licking me! I continue singing and hopeful. UGH! We just missed his exit! NO! My heart sinks and I remember the last time we went this far…we ended up at …the dreaded, bright, big building…NO!...I’m going to THE DENTIST!
My Dad feeds me some pudding when we pull into the parking lot, they use the pudding to sneak in the medicine that is supposed to calm me down. We walk inside, the first thing I notice is the bright lights, almost too bright and I look around trying to adjust. The chairs are hard. I am nervous and can’t relax. Mom and Dad are trying to comfort me. I am not happy… but wait who is that good looking young man?! He looks familiar. Is that Chris?! Why is Chris here at the Dentist? Ok, it’s not Chris but he looks like him and takes my hand. He’s certainly an upgrade from the loud impatient lady that was here last time. Something about him makes me feel safe. Maybe this will not be so bad after all. He assured me it would be over quickly, and he was right. Dad was there too which made me feel safe. I didn’t like it but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. I felt too tired to fight the dentist anymore. I was already exhausted from fighting everything all morning.
Finally, it was all over and the Chris look alike brought me back to the room where Mom was waiting. Chris by the way is my niece’s friend (very kind and handsome young man). Mom and Dad, both told me how good I did. They weren’t wrong, I only spit a few times, stayed awake the entire time, and never bit anyone trying to put their hands in my mouth. Phew! Glad it’s over for another year! I’m going to sleep good tonight!
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