New School - again

The day before Gabe started Middle school, he stayed in bed until after 1 p.m. I began to worry that something was wrong. Finally I went in. He was buried under a blanket. "Are you awake?" I asked very softly.
"Go away! I don't have to go to school today!" he growled.
I realized that he was hiding. I went on about my business of putting away clean clothes. "Get out I said," he demanded as he sat up.
"I'm just putting clothes away," I told him. After about 10 minutes he got out of bed. He was already dressed. Angel told me that he got up much earlier while I was out for a morning walk and got dressed. Then he got right back into bed.
Later in the day we went to WalMart to get a new lunch box among other things. Gabe is grieving over the departure of his old lunch box. The zipper was not working well by the end of last year. Even though we cleaned it before storing it, it was covered in mildew when we got it out. It has to go. This is an unhappy day.
In WalMart the first thing we go to is the lunch boxes. They have dark blue ones the same color as his old one but a different style and ones the same style as his old one but green instead. Gabe grabs a blue one and declares, "Just like my old one." I start to show him the green one but he is not even going to look. I give up quickly. He's happy with the one he grabbed. No reason to look for trouble. He insists on carrying it through the store. "It's mine!"
As we walk through WalMart Gabe says, "Save money, Live better, WalMart" about once each minute. He's so stressed today that I decide not to try to stop him. He is really trying to be good today. Often, when he repeats a lot I try to break the cycle. I think that he needs help learning to control the cycling thoughts. When he is stressed I just let it go.

In Judith Bluestone's book -
The Fabric of Autism, Weaving The Threads into A Cogent Theory, By Judith Bluestone (2005) Sapphire Enterprises, LLC
she talks about learning to control the thought that cycle through. Once they start it is hard to stop them, but it is possible to learn to control what comes out. She also talks about the need to just release at some point.
Gabe walking through the store quietly repeating the advertisement is really not that bad.
Today I am thankful that WalMart has Silk soy yogurt. They only have it every so often. Gabe loves it. It's his pudding! I also find a good deal on gluten free crackers.
Gabe repeatedly asked when school is going to start, followed by I don't have to go today. At supper time he was still declaring I don't have to go today.