Having a Sensitive 5 Year Old Means . . .

. . . waiting three months before he'll decide his old worn in, comfortable hat is too small, then spending ten minutes before school trying on every winter hat in the house to find one that covers his forehead JUST RIGHT. Then adjusting said hat a hundred times because it is really too big and keeps falling in his eyes. And stopping every twenty steps on the way to school to adjust the hat again so it is JUST RIGHT. And finally getting a new hat that will cover his forehead but not fall in his eyes and doesn't pinch his ears and fits JUST RIGHT.

. . . making sure the soft pants are clean on school days so that he can feel JUST RIGHT at school.

. . . having to throw out socks before they have holes because they are wearing out unevenly and he can feel bumps on his feet. Then having to find new socks that feel JUST RIGHT, like the old ones did.

. . . having bread in the house with no seeds in it. And, if his preference is met, only eating the slices in the very middle of the loaf, because the other ones are slanted on the top.

. . . cutting the peels off fruit, the soft spots out of bananas and every single little shred of white stuff off the oranges so that they are JUST RIGHT.

. . . roughhousing gently.

. . . buying the same brand of toothpaste and jam and cereal.

. . . making sure bath soaps and laundry detergents aren't too smelly

. . . having the volume on the t.v. JUST RIGHT so he can hear it, but not too loud so it hurts his ears.

. . . having a lot of patience as a mom, and remembering that slowly, over time, he will either grow out of some of his sensitivities or learn to deal with them on his own.

. . . reminding myself that I hear, see, smell and feel the world in finer detail than most people also. And that when I allow it to affect me, I see subtle details that help me to enjoy beauty, creativity and nature more.

. . . being careful to guard my son's sensitivity. If he is taught to fight against it, he will feel irrational that little things irritate him and he can't explain why. If he learns to work with it, it will serve him well.