Fun Destroyer

The flowers and trees are blooming, the grass is greening up, there's a warm breeze blowing, the sun is shining.  It's Spring -one of the most beautiful seasons of the year.   You can get outside and enjoy nature again.  You can go for a nice hike, a jog, a bike ride or a walk outdoors.  The cloudy days of winter are gone...but not for my boy.  The clouds are still hovering over his head.

For some reason, this is always the most difficult season of the year for Red.  It is historically noted that by the time March and April roll around --he is done with school.  He's ready to check out for the year...go home and have a nice long vacation from stress.  This time of the year gets more stressful at school.  They are preparing for state testing.  Curriculum in classes is reaching a climax and getting more rigorous.  Work at school is climbing the mountain while he is retreating back down the hill.

I pick both boys up from school so that we can get Red to his Social Skills Coaching appointment.  We have a little time to kill.  I had heard good things about Bull Creek Park here in Austin and it's very close to where we are going.  I decide to check it out.  It is awesome!  There's a great creek that runs through a hiking trail.

Blue and I get out of the card to check out the scene.  Where is Red?  He's in the car...screaming, "What are you doing!??? Where are you guys going!? Come baaackk!"  We keep walking.  Blue and I decide to climb down into this little cove where we can put our feet in the water.  Red can no longer see us from the car.  He decides to get out of the car to come and see what the hell we are doing.  We are in heaven experiencing the beauty of nature.  Blue tells me that we are sitting on limestone.

"Limestone can grow plants out of it.  That's why you see these plants coming up."

We start to chuck rocks into the deeper part of the creek.  We're just chillin'.  Red vacillates back and forth between thinking that this would be a really cool place to video, while at the same time hating the fact that Blue and I are enjoying ourselves.

He starts to call Blue names.

"You look like a girl!"
"You look like Mindy." (A girl who used to be in his class)
"And you act like her too."
"Mindy. Mindy, Mindy."

Blue and I splash around in the water.  He ignores Red.  It kills him that he's not able to push his buttons.  When we get in the car he says, "Why isn't Blue getting mad?  He always gets mad when we're at home."  If Blue could only have the strength to ignore him more often, he just might loose his determination and will to annoy him.

When we get to his Social Skills coach, she tells me that Michelle Garcia, of the popular Social Thinking
has these characters she calls "The Unthinkables."  Apparently, Red was busy being "Mean Jean Destroyer of Fun."  His super powers are, "Insulting others...he can be very bossy and hog all of the attention."

Oh -so you mean...it's not just Red.  There are other "Destroyers of Fun" lurking around in our universe.  Red is becoming mean and ugly to us, because he's tired of school.  We love him.  We are a safe place to take out all of his frustrations.  Lucky us!

So now we just have to figure out how to beat "Mean Jean -Destroyer of Fun" at his own game.

Any suggestions?
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