Gratitude

Once a month I go to a support group and no not that kind of support group. This one is elite and not just anyone can join. You have to have a child with autism.
It is a collection of everyday, humble, but amazing women. They are each raising one or more autistic children and they bring a wealth of knowledge and insights. It is two hours of laughing, crying, advising, listening, and validating. As we neared the end of the time each women in turn expressed her gratitude for the various blessings that come from having a child with autism. I was filled with gratitude for my own experiences with Jackson and for the joy of being his mother. Tears welled and I was filled with love and pride for my boy. Just what I needed after the two hour tantrum earlier in the day.
This season especially I am grateful for both of my boys and daily trials and joys that come with being their mom.

The Rules of Courtesy State

that when dropping someone off at their home you should idle in the driveway until they make it safely inside. This is done for a variety of reasons; to insure that the door is not locked, there is not a killer lurking in the bushes, they don't trip, hit their head, and lay unconscious on the step, or in my case have the door nob fall off and find themselves stuck outside soaking wet in their swimming suit and towel in 30 degree weather.

Yep, that was me this morning frantically knocking on the doors then the windows, all the while creeping through the stages of hypothermia. Finally relief came when Mark emerged from his marathon shower to find me chattering and shaking on the front porch.

Let this be a lesson to all you carpoolers and especially you swimming neighbor friends!

At least I will be getting my Klondike merit badge at the next pack meeting.

Preschool

The day of trepidation finally arrived, da da da. First day of preschool. I was a nervous wreck while Jackson remained blissfully clueless that he was about to embark on this new chapter of his young life.
I was prepared for the worst. Crying, yelling, clinging and I thought Jackson might have a hard time too. Well, much to my surprise there were no tears on either side. He did great. He found his name at the table carefully traced each letter saying them out loud J A C K S O N. When, he had finished this menial task he grabbed the sheet next to him and began again D E R E K. What next? Geography? Trig? Bring it on. That's my boy.

Halloween

Remember as a kid running from house to house, begging your parents to go faster, to keep up. Must get more candy. Run, laugh, eat candy, run some more. What could be better? Nothing right? I thought the same until I went trick-or-treating with my own kids. Better, way better. Seeing them/him have so much fun is even better than doing it yourself.
We had a great Halloween.

The kiddos pre trick-or-treating. They have no idea what they are in for.

The fattest little lion on the block.

The joy of realizing that complete strangers give you candy when you go to the door. He invited himself in to more than one home and even played with a few toys if they were interesting enough.

Dancing for joy.


Less dancing, more running.

And finally a rest. Check out that pirate's booty.

And of course some birthday festivities.