A Woman's Work – Brooke Basically Blogging

Syd loves her iPad. It was because of the iPad that she learned how to type. Lately, she likes to take pictures and make videos of herself of course. When we were in Baltimore Father’s Day weekend. The iPad began to lock. Apple support said that it was a problem that they were experiencing. I was able to get the activation lock off but I wasn’t sure if that would work.

As a backup, I had Syd’s Leap Pad Tablet that she hadn’t played with in a year.  I thought she would like to play some of the spelling games. While in Michigan she did well only using the iPad when we arrived at our destination. But we were politely requesting the wi-fi password wherever we went.

The day before we were to leave for Delaware the iPad went into activation lock mode again. This time after being on the phone with Apple support, they were no help. I had to explain to Sydney that her iPad needed to get fixed. I started thinking about how to take it to the apple store which would be very overwhelming for Syd. At this time we just survived two overwhelming days. So, I wanted Tuesday to be a rest and relax day for all of us.

I made a schedule for Syd to keep her busy for three hours. That’s when Diana would be back and I would have a plan by then. Sydney read her social story about riding on an airplane. She began making a list of things that she would see at the airport. Next, we both colored. I think it was probably more calming for me than Sydney. Then she played independently while I searched the web for iPad deals.

When Diana returned I told her to take us to the closest Verizon Wireless Store. I told Syd that she would have to act like a teenager in the store. This was going to be our new family iPad. As soon as we walked in I saw Sam. After a quick overview Sam was working on getting us an iPad. He was great. Diana found the perfect pink case and Syd sat like an angel in the chair.

You might be thinking why not wait until you get back to Delaware to buy an iPad? What is the urgency? My sanity, enough said. I didn’t want to chance traveling on a flight without something that was familiar for her.

Sam made sure to have the iPad set up for us. Syd was excited. I searched the cloud for her books and apps and we were ready to go. We all took turns using the iPad. This way Syd knew that it was our family iPad.

She asked for a new book. This time it wasn’t a Disney Princess book. It was the short informational text. She enjoyed reading to me and of course listening to Walk Like An Egyptian.

The iPad is not her babysitter. The iPad sometimes serves as a communication device for her. The apps allow her to have a calm down counter, and other schedules that she is learning to customize. And when she goes to bed. I can binge watch Netflix on our new family iPad.

I made sure to give Sam a wonderful review and show my appreciation to him on Twitter. Verizon even responded to my tweet.

Could Sydney have made it without the iPad? Maybe, maybe not. I wasn’t going to test it out on our plane ride home.  By the way,  I’m almost done with House of Cards.