The Beginning

So, here I am embarking on a little journey. Doesn’t every blog start that way? Or maybe it’s “fly away with me to a place where you can…” to which you promptly turn your computer screen off, roll your eyes, and start sipping cough syrup.

I do find myself in an interesting place. I want to have a forum where I can share my experiences of life. You see, I am a mother to two boys, one of which has autism. My son is now 11 years old and has given me no shortage of tears and laughter-sometimes within the same moment. Because sometimes you literally think you are losing your mind. I know there are more of you out there in the world who feel the way I do. We didn’t ask for autism. We didn’t have that in our little photo book of memories. But, it is here, and it is now. And, it is difficult. Not just once a week difficult. It is daily hard. Morning, noon, and night. It is ever apparent to me that it is God’s grace that my little guy has just about one of the cutest faces you’ll ever come across because at times I want to hurt him, or me. But, mostly him. (insert wink smiley face here)

But, what I haven’t found in this world of special needs is a place where we can all just relax and laugh about our situation. Let’s face it. There are definite roles for support groups and even a good dose of therapy. But, my most therapeutic times of healing are me with a glass/bottle of wine, laughing my tookus (yes, I just googled that for spelling) off with a friend because of the absolutely ABSURD things that I have found myself doing because I have a child with autism. (flipping over my baby stroller so he can spin the wheels while I try on clothes in the dressing room) The asinine things that come out of my mouth. (“you MUST eat at least three bites of cheese sandwich on white bread before you can have an entire chocolate chip cookie”) This is what gets me through. This is what keeps me from going insane and being that mom who hasn’t showered in five days. If we cannot laugh about our situation, then we are forced to always cry about it. And, as the Good Book says, “laughter is good medicine.” 

So, curl up, kick your feet up-whatever makes you comfortable. Maybe give your little one the iPad while you check this on your phone because you’re probably trying to get them to bed, but they can’t fall asleep, and your sleep deprived and cranky, so the video babysitter is the best thing for now. Deep breath! It’s all going to be okay. We can wake up tomorrow and attempt at being a super hero. But, for now…