MoA

I've been meaning to write but I've been preoccupied with something lately. It's something I may post about if things continue to fall into place with it the way they have. I'll have to wait and see.

But I wanted to post about us visiting Mall of America on Saturday, April 5th. I've only been there two times in my life because I really can't stand the place. Three counting now this past Saturday. Y has been there numerous times with friends of hers, and J - never. Until Saturday. The kids have been wanting to go and I finally relented. I figure get it out of their system...for now. And J really really wanted to go. He's heard Y rave on and on about it. I was nervous about taking him because of the size and general noise of the place. I had no idea how well he was going to do there.

Like so many times before he proved to me my concerns were unfounded. He did great at MoA! Heh, he did better than me!

The mall is loud, very loud. One has to yell at the person standing next to them to be heard. And maneuvering through all the people can be tricky. It was a constant making sure Y & J were close to me. I don't even want to imagine what it would be like to get lost from your group there.

We originally printed out a map of the levels and the stores we were going to shop in. Peh. That idea quickly went out the door once we were in the mall. The place is so damned big that following a game plan didn't work. I was concerned how J would do with this since we always shop with a list and schedule. Again, he proved to me he did better than I thought he would. He had no problem not shopping with the map or a list or schedule.

We hit about half the stores we wanted to. I thought this was pretty good.

I brought J's earplugs with in case he needed them but he never once asked me for them. I was tempted to use them a few times.

Like I said, the mall was loud. Much too loud for my liking. I can say I was having sensory issues. Neither Y nor J were. Several times I asked J is he was doing all right and each time he said yes. In fact, there were a few times he said it in an annoyed voice. At one point I asked him if the noise was bothering him and he told me no.

I know J filters sounds and senses differently than I do. From what I've been told he doesn't really have a "filter system" the way I or Y do. He takes it in and somehow processes it all. I can't even begin to imagine how he does that or what it's like for him. But the fact that the level of noise at MoA didn't bother him had me surprised. Especially when he has to use earplugs at the local mall and has to constantly walk in and out a stores he likes to shop in. He didn't do any of that at MoA.

I remember casually asking him why the noise doesn't bother him because it sure bothers me and he shrugged and said, "I don't know. It just doesn't." I almost wonder if the noise was so loud and a constant that he just didn't really "hear" it? That was suggested to me by J's teacher.

After four hours on our feet we ate at The Rainforest Cafe. That was the coolest place. Every twenty minutes there's a "rainstorm" in the restaurant. We're in a rainforest so why not. We sat in what was called the Elephant Room. It had what were supposed to resemble stampeding elephants carved on one of the walls. And that section of the restaurant had a constant vibration which was supposed to be stampeding elephants in the distance. We all found this to be very relaxing.

The restaurant it's own version of Build-A-Bear Workshop and I got J a gorilla that he named Grillz. I'll post a picture of it as soon as he lets me take a picture of it. *laughs* I actually got him the gorilla within the first half hour of being at the mall. We had to reserve a time for dinner and when he noticed the BABW he just had to get one. I had agreed to do this anyway so I said okay. He carried Grillz around with him the entire day and I think having something to hold and squeeze helped him through the day. I know there were several times I saw him squeezing his gorilla real tight. If it helped him cope with the noise and any sensory issues then more power to him. He figured out his own strategy and I couldn't have been more proud. He's really beginning to come into his own and figure out what works best for him.

We also checked out Legoland and I have to say we were pretty disappointed. Sure they had cool displays made out of Legos but the location it was in was small and unimpressive.

We didn't venture near Nickelodeon Universe because well, we just didn't. We were there to shop. And besides, Y & J would rather go to Valleyfair this coming summer.

We didn't get out of the mall until 7:00. We spent six hours there. That's the longest we've ever spent in a mall. We were tired and sore by the time we got to the car.

We had a good time and I had to laugh to myself that J did better there than I did. But then he's my amazing little man.