The Bright Side

love this quote!

Saw the following quote, written by the songwriter, Leonard Cohen, over on Julia's Hooked on Houses blog in a post about Elizabeth Edward's home.  This quote is written on Elizabeth's kitchen wall:  

 

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

Isn't it beautiful?  I think so.  It really spoke to me and truly captures how we've felt and what we've experienced having autism in our lives, so I thought I would share it here with you.  

 

Julia also has several photos from Oprah's visit to Ms. Edward's home as well.  My absolutely favorite room was the children's playroom.   Now this would be an awesome place for some seriously enjoyable homeschooling!!

 

The books, the shelves, the cozy couch, oh my!

 

And how about this for a workspace?  Lovely.

 

Thanks, Julia, for bringing that quote into my life.  It is a keeper!

 

 

celebrating

Well, it is almost midnight on September 30th, time to celebrate just a bit!  Our oldest son, Alex, who has severe autism, made it all the way through the first month of school without asking to go home!  You are going to have to trust me on this. This is a Very. Big. Deal.  Last spring, he asked to come home from school every single day, from February until the end of the school year.  He was miserable and anxious and did not want to be there.  We got a call almost every day from school to come and pick him up.  Can you image?  It got so bad, that the sound of a ringing phone made us all a bit crazy.  It was not a fun time for anyone.

But, I am very happy to report that in the month of September, we have not gotten a single phone call from school.  Alex has been happily rushing out to the bus each morning.  Phew!! His teachers and assistants came up with an awesome schedule for him which keeps him very busy.  So far, so good!  Only 8 more months to go....

Wish him luck!

my hero

Now I'd like to introduce my oldest son, Alex. My hero. This photo was taken on the night of his graduation from high school.  He was so happy and we were so proud of him. 

It was a beautiful summer evening and we had all adjourned to our local T.G.I. Fridays to celebrate. The smile on his face says it all. He was pretty pleased with himself and rightly so.

  

Life for Alex isn't always so rosy. He has severe autism and he isn't able to speak, or read or write.  He uses pictures and a device to communicate. That communication is pretty limited, though. 

The world is often overwhelming and beyond his comprehension. But, he had made it through the high school years. He had worked hard in all of his classes and his work experience jobs. He navigated the very busy halls of his large high school like an old pro. We were thrilled.

Over the years, there have been many challenges. Many difficult behaviors. Many days that weren't so happy. But, when he smiles like he was smiling that night, and I know with ABSOLUTE certainty what he is thinking and how he is feeling, those times are priceless. You wouldn't believe how many conversations my husband and I have where we are trying to figure out what he needs, how he is feeling, is he sick, etc.

The last few months he has been going through a really rough patch in his new transition school. Our little family is in serious survival mode. This blog is my attempt to gather my strength and resolve to keep us all moving forward and not get bogged down in the negative. He seems to be feeling a bit better this week and it almost feels like he has turned a corner and we are headed into smoother waters. Did I just mix metaphors there? Well, you get the idea.

I'm not going to delve into the whole subject of autism here as that is plainly beyond the scope of this little blog. But, there are many wonderful blogs out there which do. I tend to steer clear of the hard core "cure" and political ones.  I prefer the ones that deal with how all the people involved live their lives with autism a part of it.  You know the ones that deal with the day to day challenges and triumphs.  Those are the ones that make my heart go zing.  

Two of my favorites are Teen Autism and Little Cotton Rabbits.  I have included a few others  in my list of favorite blogs. I'm looking forward to posting in the future many positive posts about Alex and more of his "lookin' at the bright side" moments like this one:

Happy trails,