Earth Day with Ben and Mom at Lonely Worm Farm - Hyde Park, NY
Healing the meltdown with purposeful work, friends, and community
April 22, 2023
Mike said:
Yesterday, I arrived at Ben’s house in Upstate New York to make the further upstate drive to Eliza Factor’s Lonely Worm Farm in Hyde Park, NY. When I arrived, Ben was resting from a “Special Needs Meltdown”, and Mom was recovering. Our kids (oops Young Adults) often recover quickly, and they return to their sweet selves. The effects of the meltdown linger longer on the parent, and these incidents can be very isolating moments in the life of a Special Needs Parent.
My first reaction was to give Mom the day to recover. I would take Ben to LWF alone. We then figured out that Mom needed to be around supportive people. We have to build healing communities that heal all of us, and Lonely Worm Farm was the right medicine yesterday.
Ben said:
It was Earth Day to celebrate the Earth, to keep it clean.
Mike Sweeney came to pick us up.
We went to the Lonely Worm Farm.
People planted flowers in the labyrinth.
People filled the planters with hay and soil.
Ben and Jess cut boards to build flower pots.
I used a tape measure and a chalk marker.
I used a jigsaw to cut the boards.
I drilled in the boards to make flower pots.
Eliza gave you a shirt with Lonely Worm Farm on it.
I met Uri there.
It was nice to see Uri.
I met URI’s dog there.
I wasn’t with Soma.
I forgot to show Soma the books I brought.
We had a luncheon there.
It was a good party.
It was a good time there.
