the mighty max update: the concept of Christmas

Saturday, November 24, 2012

the concept of Christmas

I love holidays. I love the excitement, the crafts, the decorations, the joy, the traditions...I enjoy it all. So it's ironic that I have a child who totally struggles with understanding concepts and therefore holidays appear to be irrelevant to him. He'll give a brief glance at the decorations and that's about it. I would love to know what is going on in that head of his...."Why is Mom putting monsters and pumpkins all over our house? Or...wait, why is there a tree IN our house?" I try and give a explanation but honestly, I am pretty confident it just doesn't mean much (or anything) to him.

And in some ways, I'm ok with it...or at least I am learning to be. Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to truly embrace the holidays together and make plans, decorate together, and fulfill all his wishes. But what I am realizing is that perhaps that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. I can still enjoy the holidays and include Max as much as he wants.

Last night as I put up our Christmas tree, I thought, "Hmmm, I wonder if there is a different approach I can try this year. I wonder how I can explain any of this to Max so that he isn't feeling totally confused (internally) with all the changes every season."

I searched the internet to find resources on explaining the concept of Christmas to individuals with special needs...even the simple concept of Santa bringing toys to good little boys and girls. While I would certainly love him to understand the concept of Jesus...that's entirely too far out of our reach at this point.

If anyone has any ideas, I am totally open for input. Meanwhile, I will do my best to enjoy the simple moments with my little guy. And we will find our own ways to celebrate the holidays...including putting the little Christmas lights right up to our eyes and seeing the world through a different perspective. :)

1 comment:

The Nelson Family said...: Amy...you have such a beautiful heart and as cliche as it sounds (but since its coming from another CHARGE mom I hope you know I mean it) MAX is SO BLESSED to have YOU as a Mom! You are flexing your expectations, dreams, wishes and experiences to meet Max where he is at in his development BUT I like how you are also able to move forward with making Christmas special for you too...I also struggle with Burke's inability to grasp the larger meaning of the holiday but I trust that God's plan and desire in all of this is that we learn a little bit about the meaning of the holiday as extending love and grace to our kids which is how they will learn about Jesus and who He is! PS...i'm thinking about getting a toy nativity scene (little people brand I think) and giving Burke chance to play with the toy character... If I find a good explanation of the Christmas story...I'll message you!
Love and Hugs from the Nelson family...; November 24, 2012 at 8:33 AM

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