Autism Bits and Pieces

The last few weeks have been crazy here. I did a presentation on autism at a conference, our county fair, the kids had their annual physical with their neurologist (the doctor is 2 hours from our house, so it’s a full day trip!)… and all the other usual stuff. Every time I think I know what I want to write about, it won’t come out like I want it to. So, it’s a beautiful fall evening. I’m going to share some highlights and take everyone for a long walk. 🙂

1. The doctor was so impressed with both of them. Casey answered his questions (very quietly – I had to tell her to talk louder. 🙂 ) and Rob waited patiently for his turn. We are going to try lowering one of Casey’s meds again. She did really well with this last year so fingers crossed it works again! They even held it together when their favorite place to eat was closed and we had to go to Plan B – which we didn’t have until that minute. 🙂 We did get everything to make Casey’s Cookie Monster costume (which Mommy hasn’t started, yet – but, hey! I’ve got 2 weeks, right?? 🙂 )
2. When we were coming home from Mom and Dad’s house Wednesday, the power window that Rob always uses stopped working. I heard metal pieces fall down in the door. He was panicked, but I kept telling him he didn’t break it. “Grandpa Mack! Cory! Uncle Jeff! Grandpa Mack! Cory! Uncle Jeff!” He kept asking for them (I think he was worried I would try to fix it myself! 🙂 ). My dad got it fixed Friday. After I dropped them off at camp, I discovered that Rob had used his iPad to google “Mazda Tribute power window fix.” I’m constantly surprised by what they know and just can’t tell me. Or they see no reason to tell me. 🙂
3. Casey was able to ignore the calendar in her head and keep wearing short sleeve shorts into October. It was in the 90’s for a week and even last week, it was warm. She was so excited to wear her long sleeve shirt and a Halloween sweatshirt to the corn maze with camp yesterday! All is right with her world cause it’s cool enough to get back to her clothing calendar.
4. Yes! This was a camp weekend! Casey talked about it for a month, but as usual, Rob didn’t say anything until Friday afternoon. He had to wear his cowboy hat and pack his power rangers bag with cardboard. We had his clothes packed, until he noticed Casey was packing extra clothes – he added more to his suitcase, too. All red t-shirts. 🙂 He “sang” all the way to camp (about 20-25 minutes from home) – he wasn’t upset – just happy to be going. But, by the time we got there, I had had enough noise. Love that young man to pieces, but I just wanted some quiet. 🙂
5. And so did one of my friends. After we dropped the kids off, we stood in the parking lot and listened to…. nothing…. absolutely nothing…. and it was wonderful. I’ve said it before – anyone can say they understand being an autism parent (and they may have a good idea of what it’s like!) but unless you live it, every… single… hour… of every… single… day…. they don’t. They can empathize with you. They can listen to you. They can love you and your child. But – only another parent truly “gets it.” And I love that I could share that peace and quiet of a beautiful fall evening with my close friend.
6. I’m still trying to get Rob to tell me what he wants to dress up like for Halloween. He won’t answer, but I know my boy. When he sees Casey dressed up, he’ll want a costume, too, and I’ll be scrambling that morning to find something for him. He never has been that excited to wear costumes, but he wants to do most of the things Casey does, so I’m guessing he’ll want one. I hate suggesting things to him, because he will just repeat what I say and not tell me what he wants to be. But, I’m not that creative, so he better tell me soon so I have time to make it. 🙂
7. I’ve been thinking about writing a book again. I never seem to have time to get it organized, but I’ve got an outline ready and thoughts running through my head. I don’t want it to be another “this is our life” book. I want people to see the laughs and the joy autism can bring. Now I just have to find the time and get motivated and get it done! 🙂

I hope each of you have bits and pieces to be happy and excited about this week, too! If you would like to have this blog sent to your email, please sign up on the home page of the blog. I never use your information for anything but sending this right to your inbox. 🙂 Thanks! Have a wonderful week! 🙂