Thrive As You

I post a lot about autism. This blog, is called, "April Walks with Autism" after all. But really what I try to talk about is "special needs." "Differently abled." "Not normal." But today we will broach that small line under the title of my blog that reads, "and a few other things too." Today I write about... the GIFTED child. Yep, I got me one of those, too. But wait? Doesn't that fall into the category of "special needs?" "Differently abled? "Not normal?" I mean Luke is autistic and he has an IEP. Jared is gifted and he has an IEP. So I think it's time we talked about it. It's interesting. I meet a lot of parents with autistic kids that are sort of embarrassed to talk about their child's autism. Almost like there's this badge of shame in saying that your kid may be less than "whole" somehow. I'm the mom with a puzzle piece tattoo on her a$$ so what does that te...

Oh dear blog readers, it has been awhile. If you've read my blog before, you know ~ I am one of the most honest people out there. I pride myself on giving the brutal truth at all times. So here it comes. I've been in a hole for 6 months. And I've liked being there. I think it's safe to say, I'm having (((((gasps for breath))))) a mid-life crisis. Or, is it a mom-life crisis? I'm not sure. Either way, I haven't felt very good in quite sometime. You know, upstairs in the brain part? Also that thing in my chest? In my heart? I mean for 6 months I've all but avoided human contact as much as I could. It was like if I talked to my mom on the phone, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fake it well enough and she'd ask "the dreaded question." Same goes for my best friend. Even my husband. "Dear GOD please do not let anyone ask THE QUESTION." You know the one. "What's wrong?" Because here's the thing. I ...

First and foremost, hearing those words come out of your mouth. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh it's that time of year, Thanksgiving is shockingly upon us. Time to take a moment (if you can find one) and reflect on all that we are thankful for. And just for the record, not a day goes by, not ONE DAY that I'm not thankful for the many many blessings I have. Even the days when my kids are driving me nuts and I want to kill my husband and I'm over-tired, over-worked, and under appreciated. Gosh, I am still thankful for every.single. second. I mean that. One of the lessons I work VERY hard to teach my children is, "Be thankful for what you have, not sad about what you don't have." You know, like when my 9 year old is complaining that we won't let him get a DS *I* instead of his plain, boring, pathetic regular DS . Let's be thankful that you HAVE a DS . That the DS even EXISTS, that in our house we have TWO DS's so you and your brother won't fight over them. That...

Dear Readers, please excuse this ugly format. It's the only one I could use to make my video work. Next posting I'll go back to normal! OK, I know my posts are supposed to be about you know, the journey of raising a special needs child. But this week my friends, it's about....... Holy $hit! The walk is 6 days away! You see, I've spent about one billion, 4 hundred and sixty two hours planning this walk. Give or take. Phew... it's a lot of work! And if you've read my previous blogs, you'll know that I've had some moments in this journey where I've questioned... ummmmm motivation. Let's not open that can of worms again, OK? And you know what I just realized? I AM writing about the journey of being the parent of a special needs child. THIS is part of the journey. Putting it out there. Letting go of the fear that people are going to judge you or your child, standing up and saying, "I'm a part of this!" and spreading the word. Becau...