Thanksgiving - Reflections Over Bread Crumbs

It has been quite a few months since I had written my last post.  After a time of introspection and just living the day to day, I have been feeling the urge to start writing again.  To backtrack, my last post was about the beginning of the summer and my son Jake's difficulty with adjusting to his summer program.  After trying out the program for about a month, we had decided that although it was a program for special needs, it did not suit the needs for our kiddo.  It did not provide enough structure for him, which he really needs.  Even though at the time I was incredibly frustrated by the situation, we got to the point where we just chalked it off to: well, at least we tried.  That experience taught me that just because a place has a good reputation and may look good on paper, it may not be the right place for every child.  It felt like we were desperately trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, and it was time to move on.  So we did.  We got through the rest of the summer.  

Camp ASCCA at Lake Martin, AL - an evening boat ride

Although it wasn't the experience that we were hoping for, there were however a couple of highlights for our family that summer.  We went to two special needs camps: Camp ASCCA (Alabama Special Camp for Children and Adults) in June and Camp Yofi at Ramah Darom in August.  Camp ASCCA was our second summer and Yofi was our first time.  ASCCA includes all special needs children and young adults and Yofi is a Jewish camp that holds a week long program especially for autism families.  We loved both camps, as they each offered different types of services and activities as well as very special counselors who put their heart and soul into our kids.   

Art activity

Easter Seals provided a free special week for military families!

Through the journey of putting ourselves out there by stepping outside our daily comfort zones of predictable routine-filled structure, with trying out special needs camps and providing fun new family experiences, we knew that we had found a home away from home at Yofi.  We had a lot in common with other families there and made some new friends.  Because there was respite provided for the parents, we basically got date nights with other parents every night.  There were creative social activities planned for parents after kids went to sleep.  The camp also set up special precautions to help our families during that week, and we felt like it surpassed our expectations.  One such precaution (or baby proofing, as we lightheartedly call it) was at the evening of the bonfire, the counselors stood shoulder length apart at the edge of the lake, so that kids couldn't make a run for the water.  Given that autistic kids are very attracted to water, we were very much appreciative of that.  Each autistic child was partnered with a friend (a personal counselor who took the child on group activities without parents and siblings and attended to his/her every need).  The siblings had their own designated group activities that parents would drop them off at.  Parents had their choices of assorted activities, and they could also choose to rest if they'd like.  This aspect of the camp made it feel like we were (dare I say) on a vacation on a resort and pretty much appealed to every aspect of family life with special needs.  We had never experienced this before.  

One of Jake's favorite activities at Yofi

There were of course family activities scheduled for us to do together as well.  One of my personal highlights were the yoga sessions at a pretty little spot by the lake.  I had one private session on a rainy afternoon and the sound of the drops gently splashing on the water was incredibly serene and dreamy.  The other session I did with Jake, where we did lots of interactive posses and movements, and I was delighted to see him get involved and be in motion and relaxed altogether.  A new friend was there with her twin boys and we enjoyed experiencing that session together.  

Jake's counselor carried activity cards on a key chain for Jake

Another cool thing that the camp did was set up the cafeteria to have the main sitting/eating area in the middle and two play rooms, one on each side for younger and older kids.  Counselors sat outside the room with an attendance board for checking in and out, so that all kids were accounted for at all times.  This enabled parents to complete their meals and continue shmoozing with other parents and counselors in a relaxed atmosphere.  This was something which we thought was absolutely brilliant.  I could go on and on singing praises here, but I think you get the picture.  It was a wonderful experience for our family.  Subsequently, our twins repeatedly asked if we could return the following summer and kept talking about our camp adventures for weeks after we returned home.

Every child at Yofi got some sort of plate award

So that was the rest of our summer - it ended on a very positive note.  Alex and I felt very encouraged and proud of our little family for getting out there, taking charge and making memories with our children.  We felt fortunate to find such types of summer programs for special needs families and we want to encourage other families that may be gun shy to take such a step.  A lot of it is hands on and exhausting, especially in the heat of summer with outdoor activities, but staying at home all summer and finding daily activities, can be just as difficult at times.  It's also a great way to get kids more adjusted to being away from home in a fun and safe environment.  Basically, we got hooked and look forward to coming back in future summers.   



In closure, what I'm thankful for this year is that we had paved a new path with little bread crumbs (mind the turkey stuffing analogy) for us to come back to and find.  They lead the way for us, inviting us to return, with each step forward, getting closer and closer to warm familiar surroundings and friendly faces.  And as we look back over our shoulders, the crumbs slowly fade and disappear.  We then intuitively throw out fresh new crumbs, paving a fresh new path for us to return to for the following year.  I guess I am mostly appreciative of taking a leap of faith, putting our good energy out there, and seeing what happens.


Happy Thanksgiving, 
and may your bread crumbs pave the way to a lovely holiday and happy home!
 

Wrapping It Up For The Holidays

As the end of the month of December nears, I find myself in a transition of sorts.  I had just gotten over being sick with a lingering cough for about six weeks.  Alex was away for the last week and a half on a case in Alaska.  We just had Hanukkah and Alex back home with us for the final day.  Lastly, the kids are getting through their last week of school before the winter holiday break.

During the time frame of the past two months, I started my first blog, Lily and the Roses ~ Creativity with Autism, Twins and Military Adventures (lilybrose1948.blogspot.com).  This is something that I had been thinking about doing for several years and finally sat down one day and just started writing.  I wish that I had started this back in 2008 during Alex's deployment to Iraq.  This would have been a wonderful outlet for me.  The reality at the time however, of being pregnant with our twins, enduring the deployment and signs of autism in our then two year old Jake, did not enable me to be clear minded, or have the wherewithal for such an undertaking.  As they say, timing is everything.  By the time that I started my first blog this year, it seemed that I had so much of what I wanted to say just flow right out of my head, through my fingers and onto the blog-canvas.  It seemed that my writing was going to have to play catch up to where my life is at this point right now.  This was going to become an interesting and very fulfilling journey for me.

Speaking of timing, it seemed that my life has been heading to a point where I needed to take our family's autism advocacy to a platform for raising more awareness, then just speaking to friends and people that I had met along the way.  That was all nice and dandy, but it wasn't going to get us very far with raising awareness on a bigger platform.  I was at a point where I felt that I had so much to share about our experience with autism and raising awareness.

That time for me began two months ago, with my first blog post: Who Pressed the Fast Forward Button (http://lilybrose1948.blogspot.com/2012/10/who-pressed-fast-forward-button.html).  Once I started writing, the posts just kept flowing, and it felt great to share so much of what I had been storing inside of my busy brain.  I had found a wonderful way to to raise awareness, by sharing about our family's experience; by sharing something personal.

Looking back, I realize how far we have come in our journey, since we had first received Jake's autism diagnosis in the summer of 2009.  There was a time that talking to family, friends and people I had just met, was almost unbearable for me to do, because it was so painful to talk about.  We spoke to our families first, and then to friends, and then we would just tell people with whom we felt comfortable.  Eventually, after going to so many therapy sessions with Jake, and talking to other parents who were sitting there and waiting for their kids, I got to a point where I would talk to anyone who was interested in talking about autism.  I really didn't care who I was speaking to - if they were willing to listen, I was going to talk about autism.  This was the start of the healing process for me.  The more I opened up about our family's experience, the better I felt.  It was incredibly empowering to release the shackles of what society would think about an a-typical family.  I didn't care anymore, and I had bigger fish to fry.  I was becoming my son's number one advocate.  He had my heart, and I became his voice.

I recently decided to start my second blog, Creationlily (Creationlily.blogspot.com) where I display my artwork, music compositions and travel photos.  I wanted to have a second blog to focus purely on creativity.  I would have that be separate from my life - blog, where I talk about autism, military life and our family.  Even though all the things that I write about in both blogs are connective aspects of my life, I wanted a purely creative blog to display my work, and to have that be my focus here.  In doing so, my thought was that it would provide further inspiration to be creative, through the process of sharing about creativity.  I published my first post on December 19th, The Inspiration for Creationlily (http://creationlily.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-inspiration-for-creationlily.html) and thus had begun the next chapter of my life.  Right before the start of the new year.


The experience of writing has been nice in other respects as well.  It has enabled me to reach out with my words and rekindling old connections as well as creating new ones.  We all effect and inspire one another.  I truly value and appreciate those people in my life, no matter how near or far, who encourage and support me on a personal level, with our autism path and military life.  With this, I close by wishing you all joy and peace in welcoming the new year.

 Happy holidays from our family to yours, 

 Lily and the Roses