Sanctuary! Sun 18th Aug 2013

Written by Jeannette

Sundays are greeted with both anticipation and a smidgen of anxiety in the Bluecrisps household.

Anticipation as T and D know it's supermarket shopping day and an opportunity to earn some chore money by helping in the not-so-busy supermarket, but mixed with anxieties due to the other people/circumstances beyond our control that may incite a sensory overload.

Our shopping trip always ends with a Costa visit, partly (ok, mostly) due to the fact that I do like my massimo skinny decaff mochas (in a takeaway cup) but also due to the fact that since a rival lounge opened up earlier this year, it's noticeably quieter in there. The new lounge sells a variety of meals, snacks and - the big draw for most - alcohol albeit in a NT family friendly environment. It seems too over-crowded and noisy for T and D though so we avoid.

Costa in a place where we can all relax, D will busy herself playing "Storm in a Teacup" on her ipad whilst T and I use the opportunity to chat.

Today he told me about a particular sensory issue he's always had about people touching his neck. I hadn't really registered this but had noticed that he will tuck his tshirt under his chin from time to time. It was interesting to get T's views and perspectives.

Whilst we were in there, there were two other families with their SN children from D's school. One having a noisy meltdown before his drink arrived. Coincidence? I don't think so. Like us, they've purposefully picked the quieter and more empathetic surroundings of Costa, a chance to unwind from the hustle and bustle on the other side of the door.

Part of me worries that the Costa cannot sustain itself against a busier lounge restaurant, that it will close and we'll lose our "sanctuary", other - more sensible, I hope - part knows that there are plenty of regulars who appreciate the quieter atmosphere and they'll be the ones who keep coming back. Ourselves included.

I hope so anyway.

There have been repercussions at home, following our trip, there would have been more without our Costa pitstop me'thinks.

For T, this afternoon has meant watching the Premier League team he supports on a televised match. He was extremely quick to correct Hubbie on any statistics, our little stat man! His statistical knowledge is unbelievable, he can produce all these facts at a prompt and they're all correct too! He'll be looking forward to his football magazines this week for sure!