I Still Believe...

A few years ago I told GP that Santa didn't bring teenagers presents, he only brought presents to children and that parents were responsible for gifting to teenagers. He didn't believe me, so he went to talk it out with Santa on one of his weekend day trips with his Dad. Ummm. That was a problem, Gino had no idea what Santa had agreed to bring him. LOL

For the last few years I have been the Scrooge in my home (the "Non believer" in GP's eyes), so he has gone to talk with Santa "on the down low" with Gino. This year, Gino has moved away and GP asked me to take him to talk to Santa. 

I once again, explained that Santa will not bring him presents , and he once again gave me the "yeah, yeah, whatever you say" look, and explained, "I need to check on the naughty list". I asked him, "What about the naughty list?" and he explained that he needed to check that he WASN'T on the naughty list. OMG! That was the funniest thing ever... 

The saying, "Dear Santa, I can explain..." came to mind. I just had to laugh, and then I took him to "check" on that, LOL

This is GP having his "talk" with Santa this year. I think he was explaining his wrong-doings and hoping that he could talk his way off the naughty list. But I think he might have snuck in some "Amazon gift cards" in there, maybe after his remorseful speech.

Every year, when GP goes to see Santa and Santa hugs him and tells him whatever it is that he tells him that makes him light up like a Christmas tree, I receive a gift; a special gift that money cannot buy, the generosity of a stranger, who brings joy to my son's life. And every year I wonder if that Santa knows how much I love him, for putting on that suit and being so patient and attentive with my son... and for helping me believe in the magic of Christmas. 

It's the season of giving. I think so many people forget that the best gift is the one we can't buy... time, love, attention. 

I hope you receive them all this season...and you just might,
if you still believe.

It won't Be Long Now...

It won't be long now before the trees start going up at the mall and the velvet chair comes out to greet the little ones (and Big ones in GP's case), and Autism Speaks just announced that it has partnered with Simon Property Group to offer children with special needs a time to go and meet up with the Big Guy. This is such a fantastic opportunity for parents to take their kiddos in and let them enjoy their visit without the pressures of "fitting in" and rushing them. 

I have so many stories that I could tell, but they all bring me to tears so I will just say Thank you, Autism Speaks and Simon PG. You have no idea how much this means to moms like me. 

Please share this information with any parent you know who has a child with disabilities. Let's not squander this wonderful gift of one on one time for our kiddos with Santa. 

For more info on this go to:

Autism Speaks Caring Santa

I'm so excited about this, and I'm sure I'm not alone. 

I Have a Zero Tolerance Policy for Attitude

At forty five I feel I have lived a life far beyond my years. I feel that life's turns have tumbled me to where I am nowhere near what I thought I'd be "when I grew up". I studied hard, played hard and expected nothing but the best from myself, and for myself. You get not what you deserve, but what you work for and earn.

GP and I were at a local restaurant the other day and after the server had done one eye roll too many, one "What?" too many, and one "sigh" too many. I called her out. I did. It's been nagging at me for days. I can't let it go, and I know why. I have reached the end of my "Taking crap" line. Yep, I'm done

I have to tell you. I am so sick of people who think they are entitled to huff and puff at the "inconvenience" of having to write down "Lettuce and cheddar cheese only, croutons on the side, ranch dressing on the side, no garnish." I mean, really? Are you freakin' kidding me? Maybe the fact that I have spent MONTHS, teaching my son exactly how to phrase this so that he gets exactly what he wants, so he doesn't totally flip out and have an emotional meltdown at the table, has something to do with my zero tolerance for "attitude".

Teaching an autistic child independent living skills is no easy task. It means many, many embarrassing moments when the clerk stares at you with the "why don't you just tell me what you need lady, and leave the poor kid be?" look. It means you might get into a squabble right in front of the cashier because he refuses to figure out how much money he must give the person. It might mean that you hold up the line at the supermarket because you need him to count his change before he leaves, lest he be shortchanged. It's no small task. But one day I will be dead, and I know that he will be able to shop for groceries, make change, and eat out, among other things.

Children grow up and my once cute little boy is now turning into a young man, and because I have not had "autistic" tattooed on his forehead I have found that sometimes, some people, feel that they can treat him with contempt. It's subtle, but it's there. And I for one, will not stand for it. I think if more people were called out for their bad behavior they would stop being jerks. I think folks feel that they are safe hiding behind a badge and need to be called on it, so I am starting with the woman in the mirror.

The number of special needs children turning into adults with special needs is alarming. I guess everyone forgot that these kids grow up, and when they grow up they look just like anyone else, and if they are lucky, they talk and do things that everyone else does...except they do things in quirky ways.

Here's a hint, if someone is talking to you while staring at the table, they are probably NOT being rude, they are probably AUTISTIC. If someone is talking "at you" while on a cell phone, they are just being rude... see the difference? I was once at a restaurant where I actually told the server, "My son speaks English. Do you understand English?" Oh yes I did. She was some young Chickie whose every other word was "What?" and the more she, asked, the more GP flapped (stimming is an outward sign of happiness, distress, anxiety...); but I would NOT speak for him. I would sit there till the freakin' cows came home before I would say what I knew he could say. He could do it and he would, and I would not let that arrogant kid get away with being a jerk. Oh she clearly understood English, and after I called her out she "listened a little more carefully" and understood his order... I understand the need to have someone LOOK at you when they speak to you, I do. I struggle with it every day. I have a "Look at Mom" mantra going 24/7. But if the person is not looking at you, and clearly not distracted otherwise, wouldn't that be a clear sign that something is amiss with this person? Hello?????????????? The lack of empathy makes me angry.

If someone is telling you exactly how they want something, over and over and over. What would lead you to believe that of you keep asking the same question you won't get the same answer? "Do you want tomatoes on that?", "I want a cheese and lettuce salad with croutons on the side and ranch dressing on the side". So, you don't want onions on that?" "I I want a cheese and lettuce salad...." Hello? How many times do you need to hear the same sentence before your brain clicks to "ON" and tells you "This is a recording!" It drives me nuts. It's scripted language, it's obvious. It's so clear it could be water from a spring. Oh, OK...maybe not to everyone, but you really don't have to be the sharpest tool in the shed to get it, you really don't.

Scripted language is like a recording that helps autistic children cope with the anxiety of having to express their needs and wants to strangers. I don't expect everyone that I meet to know this. I just expect people who are in the service industry to realize that when someone is telling you exactly what they want and how they want it, you should just take them at their word and let them be. It's not rocket science. It's common sense.

So I had to vent and tell you that I now understand those angry old ladies that snap at people with very little provocation because I have turned into one of them. Be warned, if you are my server and you even glance at my son in any way that is not kind and caring, I will call you out on it. I will not sit there and pretend I don't notice because his life is too full of real challenges, he tries really hard to fit into "our" world, he is doing the best he can and if you can't or won't work with him, I'd like to see the manager because I have a zero tolerance policy for "attitude"!

It's All a Blur

Winter is particularly challenging for me personally. It's the lack of sunshine, the excess of snow, the cold weather that chills me to the core and the inability to make my son's days "fun" that make just hanging in there such a struggle. Fortunately for me, I have a long term plan that helps me through this "end of Winter" hurdle. It's called a Time Share. It's a Winter option that I have, if I can muster the courage to go.

For years I have hated my property because it has seen me at my worst and most vulnerable. It is a place where I meet autism head on and dare it to break me. Invariably, it beats the sh** out of me, but I dress my wounds and try again. Three years in a row GP broke my glasses while I was there. The nearest optometrist being a 45 minute drive, longer when you can't see where you are going. Oh wait, there was the year when he didn't BREAK my glasses he knocked them over and they fell into the baseboard! I had four men in the apt looking for my tiny wire rimmed glasses in a tan colored room. It took them a long time to find them but they did. My heroes! One year GP decided he liked the outdoor hot tub and went out at 6am to stand in the snow in his jammies watching it. You have no idea what it feels like to wake up in an apartment in the middle of the White Mountains (that pic is the view from my unit's porch) and discover your child is missing... and when it happens more than once??? The second time he was found standing by the pool, fortunately he had not jumped in, he was three or four at the time. It was so early, that's all I remember; it was so cold, and so early. By the third time he was spotted in the wee hours of the morning I was called to collect him (by then everyone knew of the little boy who was lost TWICE before), and a chain was put on my apt door to keep him in. I used a suitcase after the first time, a chair after the second. At the time we lived in a dead bolted house, and a card key entry was like an open invitation to wander. As I always say, my son is autistic, he isn't stupid! Needless to say, the chain was unnecessary, that day I simply packed up and went home. I was done. Remember GP was non verbal, non communicative. So you could ask him his name, where he Mommy was, and you would see nothing but a little boy who seemed like he was deaf... lost in thought.

Every year for one week, I would pull my son out of our home where he was safe and sound and take him to the Mountains. Every single year, something would happen. Something bad. In time it came to be an apartment full of bad memories, and I couldn't go there. I couldn't sell it though. I couldn't. I refused. I would not accept defeat. I just stopped going, but I paid it off and like a nest egg, just let it rest.

Last year we changed management companies and spent an extraordinary amount of money on renovations. After writing a check that rivaled my mortgage payment I decided it was time to go see what had been done. I dressed myself in courage and set off to face my fears.

I psyched myself up, and set off with GP. I knew I was "home" when I closed the door and the chain was still there. That chain is was like a scar, a battle scar. I caught myself standing there, staring at it and reliving that horrible stay so many years ago. But it didn't kill me and I was back. Stronger, wiser and ready for the challenge.

How much my dear boy had changed. How happy he was to be there. He was talking, choosing restaurants, making our schedule. Now he was planning sightseeing drives and checking show times at the local cinema. He was not waking up at 5am to wander in the night. He was sleeping in. I don't remember everything we did that week, it's all a blur... which is really a good thing. You know the saying, "No news is good news" ? That applies here. If nothing stands out, it just means it was all good. =)
They say that time heals all wounds but I am here to tell you that some wounds heal leaving scars so deep that you just have to stop pretending you don't see them. You have to stare at them and know that what has not killed you, has made you stronger. In my case, I faced my fear and this time, this week, I stared autism in the face and said Screw YOU!

I lived through it and if you are where I was, know that you too will live through this. It matters not what your challenge is. If you can make it through today, you have won. B.

Now Why The Heck Didn't I Think Of That?

Ever have one of those moments? I have them often but rarely when it comes to GP because I swear, I never stop thinking of ways to improve his quality of life. I try to always stay one step ahead of the challenges he will face when doing one thing or another but when I saw this video I had one of those moments.

I know many of you have children with Special Needs and I hope this will help someone who is just now reaching this crossroad. I have been there, done that; and I remember how sad I was when I gave away his first bicycle, then his second and lastly when I told Gino if he bought him a new bike I would lay it out in the middle of the road.... denial is a terrible thing.

I also remember the joy in my son's eyes when he finally, at the age of fourteen, got on a tricycle and zoomed through a store where there was an adult size tricycle on display. It took him five minutes to figure out how to go in a straight line but not once did he fall off. It was amazing. He did not want the tricycle that day, but every time we go to that store he looks for it and rides it and I am confident that one day he will muster the courage to take it home, knowing he will not fail., as he did so many times when he tried to ride a bike (he doesn't even want to try those,, and I will NEVER ask him to). I wait patiently, for that day that he will want to bring that tricycle home because although I did not think to remove the pedals from his stupid bicycles (I'm not bitter, do I sound bitter?), I did think that a tricycle would put the wind in his hair and a smile on his face... and it did.

Now it's just a matter of time before he decides the isles are not long enough ,

I can't wait! =)

Who is Martin Luther King Jr?

That is the question I ask GP every single year before declaring Martin Luther King Jr a No Home school day. The way I see it, if you don't know who he was you have no business getting the day off. Yep, my house, my rules.

Last year my Prince declared, "I can't remember" when asked this question and I quickly replied, "Well, let's find out!" and we went on to a two hour MLK Jr tutorial. Last night when I asked the same question, my son did not skip a beat and he gave me the

condensed version, the cliff notes of all answers. "He says, "No violence!"", he replied and for the first time ever my son has the day off without a MLK Jr refresher course. Gotta love that!

Yes, Martin Luther King Jr did many things for our country and said many things worth noting but if my son remembers one single thing about this great civil rights leader and it's that he stood for "No violence!" well, that's good enough for me.

My job here is done. I feel so accomplished, it's the little things that make me happy.

Image is a print available here.

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

GP wanted to go to Walt Disney World after his successful trip to Disneyland last year. I have to say that when I got home after that first trip I thought I would rather die than do it again, but you know how you go through labor and then a few years later you're ready to have another child??? I kind of think that vacationing with my Prince is a little like that. You know it's going to be hard, you know you will want to kill a few people along the way and you still can't get over the twinkle in his eye and the excitement in his hands ... so off you go begging for a favor and hoping that TChoco will say yes to his next master plan.
How lucky for us that her cup runeth over with love and patience to spare, and she once again agreed to be the wingman on this most challenging of adventures. Careful to consider every little detail she planned his trip and all I had to do was follow her lead and watch for bumps in the road. And you must trust me when I say, there were many bumps in the road... but we navigated as best we could and GP had a fun time, only hampered by a terrible cold that hit him two days into his adventure and still lingers three days after arriving home.
Thank you TChoco for your love and patience, and above all, for helping us make GP's dreams come true. XXO
This is TChoco (in her Minnie Mouse sequin ears) w/ GP at the Magic Kingdom. GP says what??? "No pictures!" LOL!

Living on the Edge

I'm once again taking a leap of faith and taking GP on a Happy Birthday vacation. I know, I know, his BD was in Oct. but after much deliberation and planning we singled this week as being the most likely to be "less crowded" at his chosen destination. As if last year's trip to Disneyland had not been hard enough (it always sounds easier than it really is, and he never seems to realize how hard it is to make HIS vacation fun), this year he wanted to go to

Disney World. Oh yeah, the BIG one. So, off we go on Monday to show him the magic. He is sooo excited and I am so worried. My sister will once again be my wing man; I am so blessed to have an extra set of hands to help me on this adventure. I know I could never do this alone. These trips are not for the weak of body or spirit. They are hard work, they require lots of planning, lots of scheduling and lots of foresight. You have to be aware of GP and what is happening in HIS surroundings at all times.

It's hard to explain but here's a visual, when walking through a crowd, one person must go in front, GP in the middle and one behind him. The person behind him is in charge of blocking people of walking in front of him or bumping him off course, the person in front of GP is in charge of making way for the two others to follow in single file. You must make sure that you don't walk too fast, lest you lose the followers, or two slow causing a pile up... you must find the shortest distance and make the fastest time (Because of the noise and crowd) because the folks behind you can't see anything... UGGG. It is sooo stressful. If you get caught in a mob (aka parade, fireworks, or just people standing around watching the water show)...it can get ugly fast, real fast. We were lucky that by our fourth day we had a system that worked like an assembly line but by them we were exhausted too. These will probably be the longest days of the year for both of us, but more likely than not, they will be the highlight of Gene's.

I swear, if his is not living on the edge, I have no idea what that is!

Sometimes You Need to Talk to The Guy Who Is In Charge!

Can you believe it's that time of the year again? WOW! Seems like just yesterday when GP announced he had talked to HIM, "for the last time" (because he knows that Santa only brings gifts to the "children" and not the teenagers). But as you can clearly see, he has had a change of heart and has decided that those rules do NOT apply to him.

When I asked GP what he wanted for Christmas (again, because WE -not Santa, would be buying him his gifts this year), he informed me that he wanted a computer program. Woo-HOO is what I thought, and then I started searching for said program. Well, it turns out that you can buy a laptop for less than the cost of this program. OUCH! Hmmm.

I need to discuss this w/the big guy (AKA Dad, LOL!). So, I say nothing and decide how I'm going to approach the husband with this "situation", because of course GP has only told me. Anyway, GP drops me another reminder when we go to the Apple store and tells me that "THIS" is not the program that he wants for Xmas, and that the one he wants is only available online because it is a "Full version". But Oh, I am ready with..."GP, we'll have to see if we can buy that one because it's VERY expensive, and we might have to save for it". He looks a little crestfallen but not upset so I think, whew! That wasn't so bad...

OK, now brace for it... GP goes out w/Gino on the Saturday and once again comes home like the cat that swallowed a tweety bird and tells me, "I talked to HIM." and what did Santa say? Yep, you guessed it...he will bring him Final Cut Studio, the full version edition! ARGH!!!!

Note the look on GP's face, that's called Satisfaction...

Yep, sometimes you just have to go straight to the top to get what you need!

Eye Contact, Priceless!

As you may or may not know, when GP was young and very much non verbal we thought he was deaf. We didn't know he was autistic, we just thought he couldn't hear because A. He didn't speak and B. He didn't look at us when we called him. Little did I know that was just one of the first signs that something was amiss... Well, GP could hear us just fine. He just didn't want to look at us because eye contact is just not something that autistic children are comfortable with.
To this day, I am constantly reminding GP to "Look at Mom"...

it goes something like this:

Mom, "Gene Paul did you find your belt?"

GP (looking around)"mumble,mumble..."

Mom" Gene Paul, did you find your belt? Eyes to Mom!"

GP, "Yes, I have it on!" (as if I can see it under his untucked shirt, duh!)

And so it goes, it's like a sentence that signifies, "Social interaction is required". It's as if he totally forgets to look at you when he speaks, even when HE initiates the conversation!

It's like "Yes, I was talking to you eventhough I was looking the other way and speaking softly...what? You didn' get that?" LOL!

While at the beach earlier this week I called him (Blackberry in hand, ready to snap his picture) and when I said "Gene Paul" He lifted his head and looked straight at me, and smiled . I think my heart skipped a beat. I can't believe I actually snapped the picture. He looked straight at me without a prompt. This is sooo rare, and I am so grateful for this small blessing.

Eye contact, it tells me that he hears me. It tells me that he sees me.

It tells me "I am here, Mom."

Eye contact, positively priceless!

A Brief Note on Laundry....

GP is getting way too picky... so he tells me, "I need fresh underwear". I tell him, "There are fresh undies in your drawer". He says, "we're all out!" I say, "NO you're not. I put them there just yesterday. I'll get them." Up I go and sure enough he has half a dozen "fresh underwear" (GP need not wait to have dirty underwear, he likes "fresh underwear", about three times a DAY! Thankyouverymuch!) So anyway, I come down and hand him a pair of "fresh" underwear, and he says, "NO. I need fresh underwear." And he is starting to get distressed.

I say "GP these are FRESH, I just washed them ." And he says, "I Need WHITE fresh underwear!"

OMG! I could not help but laugh and...I asked him, "BUT what's wrong with these? He says, "Those are PINK; those are GIRL'S underwear!" HAHAHAHA. I cannot believe my son, who can wear plaid over plaid, red shirts with green pants (just a string of lights short of a Christmas Tree), is now getting picky about the color of his underwear.

WHAT? So I washed a red placemat with the undies...there are ALWAYS undies in there! How the heck was I supposed to know it would turn his undies pink?
I would tell him about all the undie-less children who would kill for a pair of FRESH PINK undies but somehow I don't think it will help my case so off to the basement I go to fish out the White fresh underwear... somedays, I just can't win. Sigh~!

It's Thursday?

I lost a day, don't laugh at me. I lost a day of my life!

Has that ever happened to you? I actually made GP pull out my cellphone and show me that it was Wednesday yesterday when he casually informed me that we were going to Hampton Beach "Tomorrow". I said, "No, we're going to Hampton Beach on Thursday. You have to check the schedule so you can see, it's on the schedule for Thursday." To which he replied, "Tomorrow IS Thursday!" and I, in typical Mom fashion said, "Show Me."

Needless to say, I spent the next thirty minutes mumbling,

"OMG, I lost a day...I can't believe I lost a day." How is that possible? One day it's Monday and the next day it's Wednesday. And what the heck? UGH...

I want a do over of this week, so I can reclaim it!

I need more time to get ready to take that child to the beach; I'm not emotionally prepared! I woke started at 3AM this morning thinking, "Oh No, it's Thursday... it's Hampton Beach day!" I might have a nervous breakdown before he gets out of bed.

Please say a little prayer for me, I need all the help I can get!

On Being Alone in a Crowd

My vehicle's state inspection was due in April, and yet again, I had not had it inspected. Today I HAD to have it done, lest I be stopped and end up in some serious trouble (not sure what happens if you're caught without the inspection...they make you walk home, after they give you a hefty fine???)

Anyway, the problem was that it was HOT, muggy and just a bad day for GP so he did not want to go get out of the car once we arrived at the inspection site. He was already upset because it was too sunny so he had used the beach blanket to cover himself in the car and the only way I could get him out of the car was to tell him he could stay in his"tent"...

This is GP in the garage's waiting room.

A Mom's gotta do, what a Mom's gotta do!

(I took the pic with my cellphone; there was no one left in the waiting room and I don't think he even noticed.)

He sat there for twenty minutes and didn't make a sound.

Sometimes he just needs to be alone. =)

Your Child on GPS, Priceless!

When GP was four years old, he walked out the door and disappeared. Literally! He was found by the police; he was identified by my description of what he was wearing, about a quarter of a mile from our home. He was nonverbal, he is autistic, he was easy prey and it was one of the worse days of my life. He had crossed two busy streets and was walking to Wendy's. He was hungry.

Hey, the child is autistic, not stupid! LOL!
After this dreadful day we lived in a dead bolted house, at all times. If there was a fire we would have had to break a window to flee our own home. It was a time of fear. Fear inside the home and fear outside of the home. I slept on the couch and Gino slept with GP; if he wandered at night I would "catch" him at the bottom of the stairs before he got into anything. We had the house covered but the "outside world" was still impossible. I looked into child tracking devices but they were impossibly expensive and just did not seem like the right fit for our needs. Anyway, time has brought us many advances and one of them is the cellphone.
Oh yes, GP has a cellphone. He actually has two, don't ask. I don't know why he has two. It's just one of those things that is... I guess he wants to be "really" sure he doesn't miss any calls. (Oh wait, the Puppy Spa is on his speed dial but grandma isn't. Please don't tell my Mom.)
Anyway, what I wanted to share was that today I found out that Blackberry has a GPS APP, and it's FREE!

OMG! I'm doing the happy dance, HOORAY! If his ringer is off I can still find him. This is probably not what this app was designed for, but I tell you...my Prince on GPS, Priceless!

Or $89/month before taxes,

depending on how you look at it. LOL!

Footnote:

It just occurred to me that you wouldn't get the Wendy's reference so here's a footnote. When GP was about three and a half he stopped eating "regular" food. It was a sensory thing. It was a long time ago so I choose to forget the worst of it but suffice it to say that for a few years all he ate was chicken nuggets from Wendy's. But this too did pass. Thank God! So when he was hungry he signed (ASL) eat and we would get in the car and drive to Wendy's... he knew the way, and he knew that's where they had the food he ate. He was hungry, I was busy, he decided to go without me. Smart Kid! It would have been nice if he had told me before he took off without me. Huh? When I was reunited with him I was sobbing and asking him "Gene Paul, where were you going? Why did you leave Mom?" and he smiled at me and signed "Eat!" That's the only time I have ever been in a cruiser. I could not walk and had to be driven home.

I would have killed for a GPS that day!

We're Counting The Days...

Only Five Days to go... Woo-HOO!

We're going to TEXAS!

GP wants me to start packing... last night we were running errands and he informs me that we have to buy a new suitcase. I tell him we are only going for two weeks, we'll be fine with the ones we have. He mulls that over and then says, "But we need a big one for the Tree!". I'm thinking, "That's not good!"

Picture this... Me, GP, Pepper the Puppy Dog (yes, she likes TX too, y'know!) and our carry-on, the Big Fat Xmas Tree... see what I mean? Not good! And how, oh how does Santa KNOW he is in TX? Well, let's just say that I think GP is giving himself an ulcer. Poor kid...the stress, the stress! LOL!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

My Prince & The Big Guy Himself!

So GP goes out w/ Gino and comes home in a flurry of absolute delight; he is giddy with excitement and just looking at him I think he is looking more and more like a cat who has just eaten the Tweety Bird. After a bit of prompting he spits the bird out...

GP:"I talked to HIM!"

Mom: "Who?"

GP:"HIM!"

Mom: "Who is HIM?"

GP:"SANTA!"

At which point he is stimming , he is flapping like a bird about to take flight, and smiling so much I could not see his eyes. He is so excited I just could not help being excited for him. He continues his retelling of this adventure. He tells me he told HIM; he told HIM what he wanted for Xmas. Then I ask him," And what DO you want for Xmas?" To which he says, "NO! I already told HIM!" and he leaves me standing there, holding his coat, while he proceeds to pick up his dog and go straight upstairs to his room. LOL! I ask Gino, "What did he say to Santa?" and Gino, in typical male fashion says, "I dunno!", to which I reply, "That's not good!"

Let the holiday guessing game begin! LOL!

Where's GP?

I'll give you one guess...yep, you guessed it, Disneyland!

My Prince wanted to go to Disneyland for his Birthday and after many, many prayers, many many sleepless nights and the best helping hands I could ever have wished for, off we went with T-Choco in tow to the magical world of Disney. And oh, how magical it really is.

My Prince Is Fourteen!

It's GP's birthday today. The end of a long Birthday celebration that began last Thursday, and gratefully, ends today with the official Birthday, HOORAY!He's a big boy now!

Cello at Homeschool?

Sometimes Homeschooling can be funny. Today GP looks at me and says, "I need music." I thought, "Well that's new..." and I told him he could get his Ipod and dock it while he worked. Up he goes, down he comes, Ipod in hand. He pops it in the docking station and declares, "Classical music is good to relieve stress!" OMG! That was too funny. So he puts the Ipod in and the cello is BLASTING, think Madonna, Marky Mark, Bruce Springsteen loud. And I'm thinking, "This is relaxing?" But I say nothing about the Concierto going on at Homeschool... as he continues to work. Then, when he is done with his task, he declares, "I need a break now!", (as if he was sweating it out or somethig, LOL!). I say, "OK" and he just gets up, pulls his Ipod from the docking station and leaves (Obviously I don't need "relaxing music", LOL!)... As my ears ring to the sounds of Yo-Yo Ma's cello I think, "That was NOT relaxing!" LOL!
GP uses "scripted" language to communicate/ make conversation. Scripted language is when you memorize complete sentences and then apply them to your everyday conversations.
For example, if he comes downstairs and there is someone there he will
say to that person, "OH! (this is his approach word- this is where he will halt, extend his hand to shake in greeting) Hello, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gene Paul. What's your name?" This is scripted language that allows him to step forward and interact in a safe, non threatening way with others. He will not be anxious about the other person if he faces his fear right off the bat, so he has a script for "meeting new people" that he applies when confronted with a "social situation" that might cause him anxiety. He has many other sentences for many other situations, this is just the first one that comes to mind.
When he says "classical music is good to relieve stress" he is not referring to HIS stress, he is telling me what he has read, which is why I think it's so funny. Stress? I would explain stress but that would be too complicated so I just smile and count my blessing! Scripted Language beats Silence, any day!B=)

"I Want To Be The Next Micheal Jackson!"

My heart dances with joy every time I hear my Prince sing. Words fail me as I try to explain how my world goes silent and I can hear him as the sole sound in an otherwise noisy room. I can hear him from two rooms away; I can hear him in the shower even if the dishwasher and the washing machine are both running in the room that separates the office and the bathroom. The sound of his voice in song is just my absolute favorite music.
I suppose the years of silence have everything to do with this feeling of unabashed giddiness that overcomes me when I hear him singing. It seems like yesterday that he was "silent", yet today he is a songbird. A new phase that is THE funniest we've ever been through.The other day he gets in the car and as we are driving along, rushing around, running errands, he turns to me and says, (as if this were the most natural thing in the world), "I want to be the next Micheal Jackson!" Just like that...OMG! I could not stop laughing! I said, "You want to be LIKE Micheal Jackson?". And he replies, "No, I want to be the NEXT Micheal Jackson". LOL! Now we are both laughing and I ask him what his favorite Micheal Jackson song is, and he says, "Beat it!". But it was the way he said it that was funny; as in, "Isn't that everyone's favorite?" To this I say ...HMMM...I don't know that one. What does it sound like?" and yes~! GP burst out in song and sings, "Beat it, Beat it, Beat it, Beat it!" OMG! It was soooo funny! After that I just agreed, "I think that's a great idea!". I think they even look alike, don't you think? LOL!