Forward progress

I have a 25 minute drive home from work and I usually try to get a little phone time in while I sit at stop lights. Today I called my parents to say hi. My mother reminded me that she would be in town on Sunday and that we were going to have a girl’s night of pizza and talking. She suggested that maybe MAC would enjoy coming, since it was at her house if MAC decided she didn't want to talk she could just go into a bedroom and listen to her music or play her DSi. I wasn't sure, but said that I would ask. Mom also said that she and my sister were making plans to go to the Baltimore Aquarium on Monday with my niece and that she would take MAC if she was interested in going. Once again I said that I would talk to MAC.


When I walked in I told her that I had just talked to her Grandmother and that she was wondering if MAC wanted to do Girls Night or the Aquarium. I was surprised when she looked me dead in the eye and very excitedly said, "yes, both". I decided to push my luck a little and I asked her to call her Grandmother and tell her that she would like to do both. (Recently when I've asked her to call her Grandparents she has said, "Not right now" and put it off.) She called, made a little small talk, said yes and got off the phone in under two minutes. But it was progress!

Not so long ago I remember saying that I had a meeting and MAC would roll her eyes and say "Not again!" This evening I ran late getting home from work, I cooked a dinner that she didn't really like, and to top it all off I had a meeting where I had to leave right after dinner. When I told her she looked at me, shrugged her shoulders and said "ok, can I have a pizza instead?"

I made her eat one slice of fried green tomato before I cooked the tortinos pizza but we both got what we wanted: a veggie being eaten and a much better tasting dinner than originally planned. Forward progress!

Every once in a while I have to sit back and look at where we started from to see the forward progress. Last Christmas she wouldn't even talk on the phone with her great-grandmother. Today she called her Grandmother and held a conversation. Three months ago she would have spit the tomato out when she didn't like the taste and refused to eat anything else. Today she chewed and swallowed it and then asked for something she liked. They are small steps, but they are steps in the right direction.