This week was music camp week! This was Wyatt’s third year attending the Eric “RicStar” Winter Music Therapy Camp at MSU, and his best year yet.

First, a little look back. Wyatt’s first year was definitely our roughest, but there was so much else going on as well. Billy was supposed to go but ended up having to stay home due to kidney stones (poor Billy!), so Wyatt was processing a lot of different emotions. He and I were off on a three day adventure without his dad for the first time, navigating hotels and scary AirBNBs, a whole new experience with music camp, and also, being taken off of an epilepsy medication bit by bit. There was a lot going on for this kid. But we made it through the week – lots of tears, but also such a good experience for us both. The staff were all so wonderful though, that I knew we would be going back.

I am so glad that we did because year two was so much better! A few tears the first day, but then, smooth sailing for there on out. Billy was with us, and while this time Wyatt was getting used to new meds (ugh do you all remember Wyatt being so sick with that new med last year?) we were prepared for it. And he ended up having a great year!!

This year though, was by far the best. Let me tell you why.

We hit the road early Monday morning, coffees and Egg McMuffins for Billy and I, water and French Toast sticks for the boy, and had an easy 90 minute drive north to Lansing. We arrived right on time, and headed on in to the school, where the staff were all lined up on both sides of the door to greet campers. Wyatt was met with a cheer and a “Wyatt’s here!” which was such a happy way to start the day for him, so welcoming, and then we went off to meet our group, green group in the cafeteria. Wyatt was starting the day with music and dancing, which to me seemed like a great way to begin. He was feeling a little shy for most of this hour, but slowly began to settle in and relax. I get it, I am the same way. We just gave him time and let him acclimate and danced as well to encourage him to join in, and eventually he did.

This whole first day was so much easier than previous first days for us. Wyatt knows these people now, the therapists and some of the volunteers, who have been there all three years that we have been there, and then even some of the kids in our group were the same from previous years. These days are very full – they are on the go and making music and learning about music from 9:30-2:30, and let me tell you, even Billy and I were tired at the end of the first day. But it had been awesome. There were some favorite moments of Wyatt’s that day, playing the piano and the bongos and then a horn. When we left for the hotel at the end, we were all ready to just chill out for a bit.

Look at that little tired face.

Which is exactly what we did. We checked in to the hotel, where music followed us. The entire cast of The Book of Mormon were checking in that day as well! We stayed in our room, reading and watching tv for a while, having snacks and water (I swear, I could not drink enough water while we there), before deciding to find some dinner. We took a little drive around the area and decided on Peppino’s Pizza, which was delicious. If you find yourself in East Lansing, give it a try. And if you are there on a Monday, they currently have a $5 special for a medium. Just saying.

The next morning, we headed back to camp. This time we were smart and parked in the shade, since our little family took our lunch breaks outside to give Wyatt some time out of his wheelchair and to give me a quiet moment in the day. All of that activity and noise is actually really hard on my own nervous system, so those little breaks were awesome. We just had car picnics in the back of the Subaru, and they were little respites.

We started off with more dancing in the cafeteria. Today Wyatt took a minute or two to warm up to being back before joining in, and it helped that they were playing with the parachute. He loves that. I think all kids do honestly. I sort of want a small one for scouts to do the same activities. The therapist plays music, the kids all raise it up and lower it, go under it, catch and toss balls as a team. The whole thing is pretty fun and Wyatt loves it. It must be evident, because Wyatt’s group leader told us that his face was pure joy during it.

Let me throw something in here – Billy and I are pretty much the only parents that attend. We definitely needed to the first two years, and after this year, we are going to attend but also start stepping back a bit. We think Wyatt can handle it, if we do it slowly. We have seen so much growth in him already, over the past year. I think with Scouts, the independence from the ramp and being able to go outside on his own for the first time ever, all of this is contributing to a stronger, braver Wyatt. He is coming out of his shell, bit by bit.

The sessions are an assortment that include composition corner, which Wyatt liked, tech tunes, rhythm, musical stories, guitar jam, the dance and music expression class, and beats blues and booms. Wyatt really enjoyed them all this year, but his favorite this year was definitely guitar jam. This sort of blew our minds, as the first two years, this class for some unknown reason, made Wyatt cry. I have no idea why. However, this year, he was totally in. He loved playing the guitar, he loved the therapist Vic who ran it, he was participating and laughing and having fun. I was beyond happy about this, and I know Billy was too. But the thing that really got us was that Wyatt wanted to, on his own volition, to say goodbye to Vic. He wheeled over to fist bump him goodbye, and if you know Wyatt, you are probably just as shocked as we were. Wyatt does not do goodbyes. They usually upset him and he is very avoidant. So to see him seek this interaction out was amazing. Of course, a few minutes later when he was saying goodbye for the year to everyone else he had a meltdown, but it didn’t matter. We had that win. That one huge moment. Special needs families always say that we don’t have milestones, we have inchstones, and this was definitely one for us. It was huge.

I skipped ahead a bit but that is ok. I will rewind just a bit, since that was the last day of camp that he did that. Anyway, after our second day was over, another really really good day, the three of us went to the MSU Children’s Garden. It didn’t take us very long to stroll through but it was still very fun. There were people working it (students maybe) and they took time to show Wyatt a cool plant, called a sensitive plant that closes up when you touch it. The garden itself was really cool, and Wyatt loved exploring it, especially the musical tiles. After this we grabbed some dinner to relax again in the hotel.

The next day we were bummed that we had to make a tough decision. Wyatt was having so much fun but the weather forecast was terrible. Predicted tornadoes, large storms, flash flooding, torrential rains. He had a concert scheduled for 1:30 and we would be out at 3, but his grandparents were also driving up to see it, and might be caught in bad weather, both ways. And so would we. We really went back and forth, but ultimately decided that it was better to leave early, even if the weather didn’t materialize, then to stay and regret it. Plus, we didn’t want our family elders driving in it either, and there is no way we would have been able to get them to stay home. So we left early, although the storms didn’t come until later than stated in that area. It really sucked, honestly, not being able to finish up. As it was we did get caught in some of the weather making its way across the state, with zero visibility for about 45 minutes of our drive. Our drive took twice as long going home as it did going up, and we actually heard the weather alert system go off on the radio, for real, and not as a test. It was announcing a tornado warning nearby, so that was alarming. We made it home though safely and were glad that we made the decision that we did.

This was such a great year for Wyatt, and we can’t wait for next year! It is an incredible experience for all of the kids involved and you can tell that everyone who puts this camp on puts their entire heart and soul into. The love for the camp and campers shows in everything they do, making this experience one that will stick with Wyatt forever.