So, here I am FINALLY getting back to utilizing this blog for the purpose of hoping that one day my boys will read it to know more about this moment in our lives and most importantly, know my feelings! Anyway, I got away from it for awhile and I wasn't sure why, but today it hit me....life has been happening & honestly, I'm exhausted. LOL! Yes, for those of you that will be reading this I'm sure you're thinking, how? For god sakes, you work from home and pretty much life is simple. Yes, I've heard that and I wasn't sure what to say to defend myself. I wasn't angry or anything, because I do realize for the most part that the outside world probably does think this way about me and honestly, I'm fine with it. BUT, the part that aggravates me, is it didn't come easy. I've worked hard to get to this point in my life! I decided, after having my children, the corporate world wasn't for me. I wasn't living for a career! I was living for my family and raising these 2 boys I was blessed with. Yes, I need a paycheck, but not a big one "per say" and thank goodness I was blessed with a husband who is driven by taking care of us. He's a survivor, as I tell him, and God love that man he goes above and beyond for us. He truly takes care of us! Now, running the household is a team effort and since I've been home, he'll tell you that he doesn't have to help around here as much. My love for this family has truly given me so much love for the home we live in. I want this place to feel warm, comfortable, and anywhere you look you can tell its been touched. Now, I will admit, there could be some dust bunnies if you happen to come the week I decided to not dust, but I've also learned on this journey we call life, fussing about it is not going to happen. We play here and we play hard, but my boys know it's their responsibility to put toys away when finished too, use the trash can to throw their trash away, and you better have the clothes in the hamper. I'm not fear based with my parenting skills, but I also want my boys to have some responsibility. They know the rules, so if they choose to not follow it's not because I'm being a meany it's simply because they "chose" and that choice delivered them a consequence. Even my 6 year old, autistic, son follows rules and his favorite responsibility is using the trash can. So, it can be done folks. LOL! I don't put the fear of God in my children or spank them for every dang thing, nope. I've learned it's all about respect. Yes, even respect shown to an 8 & 6 year old can and will show them right from wrong. We all parent different, not saying my way is the right way, because believe me I've tried everything I'm just saying, where we are now is something I'm so very proud of. Anyway, I got off on a tangent. hehehe
I have been asked so much about Colin, so here's an update. Over the past several months, Colin has had a huge growth spurt! Not just in the size of his jeans, but his mental growth is AMAZING! When school started, back in August, I was scared to death. I had no idea what to expect or how to even prepare myself for this new journey. By the grace of God, this boy has proved all the nay-sayers wrong. He's doing well! He has his moments, don't get me wrong, but to get on the bus every school day w/o tears and love where he's going has been a blessing. It hit me, not too far into this new chapter, but the lady that greets him when he gets off that bus is truly an angel. Miss Caitlin, the Intervention Specialist who teaches the R&T room at Colin's school, has given me so much hope for my son. She adores this little boy and allows him to be who he is. She's learned his ways to know how much she can push. She's adjusted his academic schedule a few times to get into that little brain of his, because the way she thought might work, didn't! Let me tell you, these things are tremendous. I had such a weird experience during his PreK years with know-it-all professionals that made me feel like I knew nothing, so to say I was so scared is an understatement for kindergarten. I can't even believe I'm going to say this, but our life has truly gotten simple. As I type this, I'm smiling because our whole goal when we moved here was to "simplify our life" and slow but sure, it's happening. Autism is a journey that I never, ever thought would happen to me. I was going to be that girl in a business suit every day, closing deals, and possibly hopping from plane to plane to meet clients (even though I hate flying); however, thanks to autism my life is much, much different and has so much more meaning. There is not 1 thing I would change about the life I'm living right now. To be 100% honest, autism has given me the ability to look deep within myself and guess what....I've realized that when I grew up all I ever wanted to be was a wife & mom. So, I'm living my dream folks. It's not easy and I'm usually always in sweatpants, but God knew what he was doing when he blessed my life with autism!
♥
Melinda
