We had a really busy day today and I’m quite tired. We had our share of ups and downs I wanted to point out something that happened, as well as how I handled it.

As I mentioned the other day, we were celebrating Gavin’s 20th birthday today. Most of my family, including myself and the boys, went bowling this morning and out to lunch afterwards. Overall, this was a very positive experience and for the most part, everyone had fun.

Unfortunately, Elliott became overwhelmed by all that was going on and his anxiety went through the roof. Lately, Elliott has been struggling with significant anxiety and quickly becoming overwhelmed in social situations.

Elliott didn’t want to go out to eat because he’d already had enough. I didn’t want to push him too hard but I also wanted him to try and work through it. I decided to try something and see if it would help him to work through what he was struggling with.

The plan was pretty simple. Rather than just give up on going out to eat for Gavin’s birthday, I decided to cut bowling short. Emmett and Gavin stayed with my family, while I took Elliott out of the bowling alley.

I figured if I can help him to decompress, he might feel better and be up to getting lunch.

I took Elliott to Pet Smart and spent some time visiting with the adoptable animals. It instantly calmed him down and he felt better. We stayed about 30 minutes and it did him a world of good. By the time we were done, he was ready to go get lunch.

I should point out that all of the animals that were up for adoption were still up for adoption when we left. ☺

Lunch was awesome and Elliott did great, as did Gavin and Emmett. I’m so proud of my kids and I’m especially proud of Elliott for working through his anxiety. If taking a break hadn’t helped, I was just going to take him home and the boys would go to lunch with my family.

I work very hard to show my kids that we don’t know what we can or cannot do until we try. Today was one such lesson and it worked out. I feel pretty good about this and I really am proud of these guys. They are better than me in every way.