Getting Back Into Focus

We moved from Montgomery, Alabama to Satellite Beach, Florida in the summer of 2014.  I haven’t posted since then.  We enjoyed the beach style living for three years.  My quiet walks along the beach, breathing in the ocean air and picking seashells, are especially memorable.  During this long pause of no writing I felt that I was done processing, reflecting, and healing from the ups and downs of living with special needs.  I was done, I thought, or at least for a while.  It was time to move forward, accept things as they were, and let life settle.  I was forty-five years old, and it was time to take care of myself a little bit more.  

In addition to the piano playing which I always continued, I began jewelry design and joined my mother in acrylic painting classes.  These hands-on activities provided me with a much needed creative and therapeutic outlet.  In hindsight, I should have also continued writing.  It would have been a huge help and comfort to me in dealing with the challenges that were heading our way.  It could have continued to be one of my creative outlets.  I suppose I was craving some means of expression without having to put thoughts into words.

In July 2015, after our first year beach-side, Alex deployed for half a year; not including the obligatory month of pre-deployment training.  This was his second deployment to date.  Five weeks into this deployment, we had to move out of the house for three weeks due to mold growing in the air conditioning ducts.  We had our belongings moved into storage, and a complete move back.  I had to put everything back mostly on my own upon our return; “a move within a move.” As you can probably imagine, I was less than thrilled.  

To make matters worse, during those three weeks of not living at home, Max broke his arm at the playground.  I felt as if God kept piling on the challenges for me.  The deployment itself was a big enough challenge to get through with a special needs child and twins. Fortunately, my in laws came to help during that chaotic period.  At that point my spirit was broken.  I went to see a counselor at the base who specializes in deployment and reintegration issues.  I saw him for the rest of the deployment and he was very helpful.  

My parents came later that fall. That daily help, especially with driving Jake, was priceless.  My “snowbird” parents came for six months a year and stayed in a townhouse near us.  When the three years were over, it felt like an end of era. I knew that I would greatly miss not having them near by and not be able to enjoy their company anymore.

Jake had excellent autism services at The Scott Center for Autism Treatment, so I was committed to making the daily drive.  I either had a two hour round trip, or an hour long trip if I stayed there for the three hours. It was not ideal. After his three hours there, I took him three days a week to Achieve therapy for speech and occupational therapy.  This was great for him as he received both speech and OT simultaneously. This enabled him to move around the room for breaks and not be stuck at a desk after a long day.  By the third year, I was exhausted from the daily drive to and from therapies.  I was ready to get back to in home therapies, even if it was just at our next location.

Jake had made significant progress, most noticeably during the third year.  I was heavily involved in his final month of therapy.  I was getting trained in learning to reinforce all the skills that he’d mastered, so that we could have a smooth transition to our next location.  I felt very confident that I could help him through the move.

We lived in the south for our first ten years of military life. We moved in late July 2017 to Virginia and I was excited to experience the beauty of four seasons again. Since the school year started much later than in Florida, Jake was out of school during the summer longer than he’d previously been.  At our new location, Jake was out of school and therapies for an additional five long weeks.  This was a tough period due to the inevitable regression he experiences every time we move.  While I knew that this regression was unavoidable, watching him regress with dwindling speech and a return to some old behaviors, such as vocal stims (making sounds is a stimulatory act for some autistic people) and mostly pointing to things, was especially difficult to observe.

We came to Virginia with Jake in May to house hunt and set up therapies.  We thought that seeing the new place would ease Jake’s transition. We were then told that by the time of our arrival Jake would be able to start therapy right away.  Unfortunately, that was not the case.  Due to a shortage of therapists, we were still on waiting lists well into the start of the school year.  This extra long period without therapies exacerbated Jake’s regression.  It was a very isolating period which took a heavy toll on me emotionally.  The way I got through it was with Alex and my parents' support, and telling myself that this is only temporary.

When school finally started Jake began to normalize.  He had missed his predictable daily structure.  Soon after, we started with twice a week speech therapy, and once a week occupational therapy. ABA (autism therapy) started a little while later, but we are still now only at twice a week – when he should be receiving five days a week.  Over the past few weeks, Jake started doing an ABA social skills group on Saturdays.  It’s been a slow start since our arrival, and we are not at maximum hours yet. This is pretty disappointing, as we’d heard such good things about therapies in the D.C. region. There really isn’t anything that we could do, except for rolling with it. 

Five and a half months in, and we have settled into our new home and are into a family groove. The twins are busy with soccer and school.  Alex started his job straight away and got into a routine quickly.  I don’t have to pick up Jake mid day to take him to ABA therapy anymore, as I had to in Florida.  Having the in home therapies has been so nice.  It provides me with more downtime and I’m able to get a lot done, practice my piano several hours a day, and give piano lessons.

Over the last couple of weeks a distant yet familiar urge hit me.  I recognized that I need to start writing again.  It was important that I figure out why I abstained from writing for so long in order to start writing again. This took some soul searching, but I eventually got there.  The life events that I shared above, took up my energy and my focus.  Now that we are settled and I have more time to myself, I am able to write again.  My head is much clearer and I can catch my breath again.  So here’s to a happy and healthy new year 2018 - A year I hope to bring continued clarity, personal fulfillment, and peace to us all.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Today I dropped off my three and a half year old twins, Max and Miriam at the Air Force base CDC (child development center).  Usually, Alex drops them off on his way to work down the street, but he has been out of town for a case.  Walking into the class room, there was a little boy standing sadly and quietly crying in the entry way.  I automatically thought that he was probably having some separation anxiety, as I have seen many times before with children this age.

During the few minutes that I was there, taking the twins' coats off, and snuggling and kissing them, I noticed that this little boy was being comforted by one of the teachers, but that he was still sad and crying.  It seemed different then when I typically see kids that cry out of separation anxiety.  They are usually more vocal about their parent leaving them at school, and more stressed about the situation.  I felt compelled to ask the teacher if separation anxiety was truly the cause of his demeanor.  The teacher told me that the boy's father had just returned from a deployment, and had literally dropped off his son just then.  It was the first time the boy had seen his dad in what must have been at least a several month separation.

The most valuable gift that you can give anyone is not a material possession, 
it is your time, because that time will not come around twice, 
and you can never get it back.

 

By the time his teacher finished her sentence, I felt my eyes tearing up, and my heart starting to ache.  I wanted to reach out and hold this sad little boy and comfort him.  Instead, I asked Miriam and Max to go up to him individually, and tell him "I love you - you are my friend - it's going to be okay."  They were so sweet.  Max even had a little pouty face and was very gentle when hugging his friend.  I told the twins "we have to be nice to our friends when they are sad."  It is important that children who have gone through a lengthy separation from a parent due to deployment, that other kids get involved in being supportive and understanding, and not just the teachers.  It is important, because many of these young kids will also experience this type of separation.  They will need the interaction and support of their school friends, to help fill that void and temporary loss.  This is where they spend most of their day, if they go to a military CDC.  Their friends will see them longer during their day then their parents will, aside from weekends and holidays.  Teaching children to be a good supportive friend can start from very early on.  This can be of great help to the child that misses his parent for months at a time.

Alex with Jake, and Max sneaking by - San Antonio, Texas 2011

I suppose that this hit a personal note for me, because our family had also endured a not-so-easy deployment.  Jake couldn't even tell me if he missed his daddy, because he was only two years old and living with autism (this was several months before we knew he was autistic).  Before Alex left for Iraq, I shot a little DVD of him reading all of Jake's favorite bed time stories in Jake's bedroom.  I would play that DVD for half a year for Jake, featuring a different story every night before going to sleep.  Alex also had several messages that I would play for Jake for times that Jake was sick, weekend morning greetings from Dad, good night messages, and a special message to be saved for Jake's birthday.  We also ordered a "Daddy Doll" for him.  This is a pillow doll with Alex's picture print on it, and Jake would sleep with it every night.  Dads could have these dolls made from their deployment locations, where they would have their photo taken and imprinted on the doll for their child/ren and send them back home as a gift.  These ideas were some of the ways we kept Alex's presence and spirit continuously with us.  We would also skype once or twice a week, but it was difficult to have Jake hang out by the computer for more than a couple of minutes.   In any case, we did what we could to have Alex still "be with us" at home.

The military lifestyle is not very easy for children in cases of work related travel and deployment.  As far as our twins go, we haven't even begun to feel the challenges of uprooting them from school for a PCS (permanent change of station - a military move to a new location) because they are still young. But with Jake, the last move took a few months of settling into the new school and therapy programs.  We felt a backslide in his developmental progress due to this major change.  We are enrolled in the EFMP (the Exceptional Family Member Program) which protects us from moving to a location that does not have adequate services for Jake's special needs.  We complete an exit interview prior to moving to a new location to make sure that all of the paperwork and services are in place.

In one of my previous posts, Pregoploymentcy http://lilybrose1948.blogspot.com/2012/11/pregoploymentcy.html  I discuss passive versus active support that I received during Alex's deployment, and how we need to collectively have more active type of support during deployments.  I was pregnant with our twins as well as learning of autism signs in Jake.  I was also teaching music at a local university during Alex's deployment in 2008 and coping with much of it on my own.  As I mentioned above, Jake couldn't tell me if he missed his dad.  I believe that we need to do what we can to actively support children as well, even though the one parent that's left behind at home does what he/she can to compensate for the other parent's absence.   We should not wait and hope that someone else will step up and do it instead of us, because we are busy with our own lives.  We have to take a personal approach to this and a personal responsibility, especially if we have already experienced the hardships of deployments ourselves.

When you come to know of a family that is enduring a deployment, 

think of that one little boy, for he will soon grow up.  Some day, he will possibly be 

some other little boy or girl's dad, 

watching out for families in our heartland, 
far away from home.

Visit my blog:  

Lily and the Roses ~ 

Creativity with Autism, Twins and Military Adventures 

http://lilybrose1948.blogspot.com

Leave me a comment if you find any of my posts meaningful to you.  Feel free to share posts with your friends to help us raise autism awareness and acceptance.
 

Visit my other blog: 

Creationlily.blogspot.com 

This is where I display 

my artwork, music compositions and travel photos 

Stop by and share posts with your friends

Creationlily

Pregoploymentcy

I like be creative by composing music, playing the piano, drawing, painting and writing.  I also enjoy puns that lighten the mood, no matter how badly the outcome may be.  I usually save this privilege for people that know me really well - so you don't have to worry about getting hit over the head with one of my puns just yet.  This occasionally does regress a step further.  I make up words by stringing two or more words together, to form a lovely concoction of flavors.   In this case, it pertains to a very meaningful personal experience, to which I'm sure many military spouses can relate.  This one concoction contains elements of surprise, exhaustion, extreme happiness, extreme sadness, isolation, bitterness, rising through to the end, and some humor.  Humor, being an element that is a must, for any of the concoctions that make up our life of creativity with autism, twins and military adventures.

So here we go -  Pregoploymentcy 

Definition:
The art of coping with a pregnancy while a husband, partner, or significant other is deployed.

This definition also calls for some equations that can be a result of a scenario such as the pregoploymentcy.  For instance, in order to break things down to fully appreciate some of the major components of this scenario, I like to think of it like this:

Deployment = stress on a spouse and stress on the whole family.

Deployment + Pregnancy = experiencing stress and personal hardship.

When you factor in another very important component to this equation, we get: Pregnancy + deployment + passive support = undergoing extreme personal hardship.

Lump on one more factor to this lovely equation and we have:

Pregnancy + deployment + passive support + stress of a possible upcoming autism diagnosis for a 2 year old = One exhausted pregnant lady that's barely able to cope, but will rise to the challenge, anyway because that is what you have to do.

Military Support During the Deployment

I love the military for so many reasons, but I have issues with the type of passive support provided during some deployments.  To say that I didn't have an easy time during Alex's deployment would be an understatement.  I can think of three people that were there for me by means of calling me on the phone up to once a week, or inviting me to an occasional coffee or dinner outing.  Some people offered passive type of support by saying "give us a call if you need anything" but didn't call to see how I was doing, didn't e-mail or stop by the house, no matter how close they lived.  The more times that people said that to me, the more irritated I got about this passivity.  What I saw was not a lack of good intentions, but a lack of follow through.  I really needed a more active type of support.  It didn't have to be anything special or anything big.  The passive level of support made me feel like while I was trying to embrace this new military life style, it is not readily embracing me back.

I was feeling more and more isolated.  I'm sure that living off base in an area that is as spread out as San Antonio, had something to do with it.  Alex and I had also talked to great lengths about how various branches of the military cope with deployments differently.  The Army for example, deploys whole units at a time.  You can imagine the spouses sharing a comradery.  They all know what the other is going through, so they naturally want to be there for each other; the situation itself lends to be of support.  The Air Force only deploys a couple of people at a time from any given office.  Most of the spouses don't really relate, unless they've already gone through this experience before.  Keep in mind that bases are different depending on the mission, but I have not seen much active support for the spouses that get left behind.  This unfortunately left a bitter taste in my mouth.  I had a difficult time dealing with these negative feelings; it took away positive energy that I needed during my twin pregnancy and single parenting Jake.  What should have been a very joyful and beautiful time in my life, was more difficult than I could have imagined.  I'd like to believe that as more and more JAG's deploy, the level of active support will improve.

Twin A and Twin B

 In one of my first ultrasounds where we listened to the baby's heartbeat, I thought and actually said out loud, "if there's another baby in there, I guess we'd miss that second heartbeat."  My mother-in-law was there with me for that one appointment.  I don't know why I was thinking that.  I guess on some level I must have already known.  Since twins didn't naturally run in my immediate family line, it was the last time I entertained that thought and put it out of my mind.  It wasn't until my 20-week ultrasound that I learned that I was having twins.  I had a feeling that it was going to be one big baby, as it was strenuous on me from pretty early on.  Thankfully, my mother was at that appointment with me at Lackland AFB.  I can't even imagine getting the news and having to take it all in on my own.  It was just too much happiness not to be able to share it with anyone else.  The lab technician did the ultrasound and jokingly asked if I would like for him to name the baby.  Playing along, I said "sure".  "the name I give to your baby is Twin A and Twin B."  To his response I shouted "I Knew it!" and mom couldn't believe her ears.  I was eager to get in touch with Alex, but since he was on a training mission at another base in Iraq at the time, I had no way of calling him directly, and I didn't want to give him the news over e-mail.  It took us about 24 hours to finally connect.  I stringed him along over several short e-mail messages, without giving anything away, until we finally got to talk and share in the exciting the news. 

Civilian Support During the Deployment

On the non-military side, I had one friend who flew in from Seattle to visit me for a week, early on in my pregnancy.  Another dear friend from Scotland came to stay with me for five weeks, to keep me company and help me with Jake - a blessing.  Family wise, my mother stayed with me for a month, and it was the best time during the deployment.  My father-in-law came for a few days visit, and then Jake and I came with him to Florida to spend Thanks giving together.  My mother-in-law also came for a short visit.  But as for local help, aside from what I had mentioned, it was shockingly scarce.   This is a matter that had affected me in such a deep and personal way, that Alex and I decided to be supportive to other military spouses, in a way that I wished I had been; even though I didn't benefit from much of this type of active support.  It is my hope that by doing this, other deployed spouses will see a positive example for themselves to emulate going forward.  I'd like to see the good will move forward and eventually become the norm.  It shouldn't have to be something that spouses have to stress over.

Weekends were the most difficult time for me during the deployment, because that is when families spend time together.  That is when loneliness can really set in and mess with your soul.  That is why I make a point of inviting spouses on weekends, in order to make them feel like they are a part of the family, they are included, they are wonderful and special.  They are not forgotten about.  Looking back, I now light-heartedly refer to this deployment time as the "pre-baby boot-camp."  One of the pluses however, of going through something like this early on in our military life (Alex deployed during his second year of active-duty) was that we got it out of the way early on.  Even if Alex gets deployed again, it will never be as difficult for me in the same way that it had been.  I will not be pregnant, we won't be stressed about an on-coming autism diagnosis, and the kids will be older.  If it happens again, I will be able to tolerate it better.  It will never be the first time twice.  It also taught me a hard lesson of having to make it on my own and to be my own best friend through tremendous challenges.  This on it's own, is absolutely a priceless life lesson.

Third Trimester

The Return of Capt Dad

Alex and Jake at the airport -  homecoming April 2009

 Just because the deployment was over, it didn't mean that there were no challenges left for this little family.  There were some post-deployment reintegration issues for us to sort through.  This is common for our returning service members.  It took me some time to recover emotionally from this whirlwind.  Unfortunately, it caused some unnecessary friction throughout and after the deployment for Alex and me.  Alex was as supportive to me as he could have been at that time, but it just wasn't enough to get me through my feelings that quickly.  It was going to take some time.  On the up-side, he was back for my third trimester and was not going to miss the birth of our twins.  That was a relief as well as very exciting.  It was nice to have him accompany me to doctor visits.  It was very fortunate timing for us, and we felt lucky to get to share this together.  We both knew of other couples that didn't get to share the birth of their child together.

Double Duty 

Once Alex returned from Iraq in the spring of 2009, we only had a few weeks to adjust to being together again as a family at this new point of our lives.  We got the twins' room set up and got reacquainted as family.  On top of which, we were observing more and more changes that pointed to autism in Jake; it was quite a scary thing.  We knew that this would be another big challenge for us, but we really had no idea what was about to transpire.  Taking care of two babies at a time, additionally, would stretch our abilities.  There was so much to accomplish, but the transition went by quickly - for better or for worse.  We had to be solid, focused, and be determined to get through it - even if it meant getting through it one day at a time.  That is what most of our early days after the birth of the twins were like.  The "one day at a time" motto I lived by during the deployment was practical and doable for me.  I was already in the correct gear from the "pre-baby boot camp." Looking back on it all, it was one big exhausting blur.  The good news was that the twins were healthy, so we were very happy, sleep deprived, but extremely thankful.   We were delighted to have these three wonderful children bless us by coming into our life. 

Visit my blog:  

Lily and the Roses ~ 

Creativity with Autism, Twins and Military Adventures 

http://lilybrose1948.blogspot.com

Leave me a comment if you find any of my posts meaningful to you.  Feel free to share posts with your friends to help us raise autism awareness and acceptance.
 

Visit my other blog: 

Creationlily.blogspot.com 

This is where I display 

my artwork, music compositions and travel photos 

Stop by and share posts with your friends

Creationlily

Inside - Outside - On Top of the Box

Living inside of the box, thinking outside of the box, and landing on top of the box with two feet in tact, is no simple matter.  

First of all, what is this box?  Is this a puzzle box?  It's not just any ordinary puzzle box.  This is a box that does not have a cover picture of the finished puzzle on top.  This box does not come with any type of instructions.  What this box does contain, is many many little puzzle pieces that have the potential (if connected with care) to change the world.

Living inside the box

Living inside of the box is what most of us do daily.  Being inside the box means that we have a secure structure in place.  We know the rules and we can follow them well.  We have our daily structure that's filled with routines and breaks (hopefully).  We take care of ourselves and we take care of our children.  Most often it's the other way around.  We go to work; whether that be in or out of the house, we come home, have dinner, some type of unwinding to the day, some social time during the week or the month, bed time routines, sleep/reboot and start all over the next morning.  Living inside the box once our life changed, meant that to do so, we had to put some sort of blinders on.  We had to become more family centric, manage our priorities, and not get too over-extended.  Our energy was limited and it had to be channeled into the necessary ports.

This was our life up to the summer of 2009, before Jake's autism diagnosis at the age of two and a half, just a few weeks after the birth of our twins, Max and Miriam.  This was the time frame just after Alex's return from his deployment to Iraq.  It was only the second year into our military life, so everything was new.  There were no training wheels for this kind of a ride.  

To make matters even worse, we had no family that lived in the same state.  Everyone was not even a driving distance away.  We were in San Antonio, Texas - the middle of the country, yet felt very much alone.  Little did we know at the time, that we were not alone.  Not even hardly.  I remember going on our first Walk for Autism that year, and getting blown away by the hundreds of people that were there to support their loved ones.  Whole offices came to support a child of a co-worker.  The entire fire department was there to support a single child.  That child, to many folks, represented many children; our children that were everyday heroes coping with autism.  I remember being touched to the core by that.  That day will stay etched in my memory forever.  That walk, to me, was a huge success, because there is strength in numbers.  It was a success, because every individual represented one piece of a very large puzzle.   

Thinking Outside of the Box

Thinking outside of the box is something we have to do in order to solve problems right?  Solving problems is what some people get paid the big bucks to do.  This is something that parents of autistic children have to do daily.  It's basically fighting your instincts to do something the way you've been taught to; the way common sense tells you to do.  The challenge here is that even though families coping with autism have to go into the mode of living inside the box, they have to do so while they simultaneously think outside the box.  This commonly takes place when parents are wiped out and at their wits end.  It's like being a magician without any training.  You always have to have another trick up that sleeve, because plan A is not usually the plan that gets approved.  

We can not super impose a structure that we think ought to work on a child that is wired differently.  We have to try to understand what they are thinking and feeling.  We basically have to reprogram the way that we were taught to do things, and break down a task into many parts with lots of repetition, in hopes that something will click.  

Children with autism can be incredibly smart, but keep in mind, they just learn differently.  This is where you hear lots of parents say that their autistic child has taught them so much.  These children teach us how to teach them.  This is incredible!  They teach us to stretch the limits of our patience, and pull out strength of character from places that we didn't even know existed inside of our humble being.  They teach us how to be sensitive to an infinite degree, and if we can be that way with them, that means that we can access these qualities in other relationships as well.  These children often excel in areas and fields that require the utmost attention to detail: music, science, computer programing and engineering.  They can contribute an unbelievable amount of talent to our society, if we help them reach their full potential.  This is done from early childhood, by getting an autism diagnosis and getting plugged in to the necessary resources.  There are variations to resources to some degree depending on the specifics of the diagnosis (to include but not limited to): ABA therapy (Applied Behavioral Analysis - the most common therapy to help with symptoms of autism), Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, and in our house-hold, equine therapy (horse assisted therapy).  See more on Jake's experience with equine therapy in my post: Horses of Hope  http://lilybrose1948.blogspot.com/2012/11/horses-of-hope.html).

Standing On Top Of The Box

We are all a part of the larger puzzle.  Until there is a cure for autism, there will be no cover picture on this box my friends.  Autistic children become autistic adults.  It's a life-long condition.  The 1 in 88 statistic will soon enough get down to 1 in 50.  It's not if, it's when.  At that point, almost all of us will know a family that is coping with autism.  What then??  This is the reality.  We are facing a global situation of epidemic proportions!  But on a brighter note, you can make a difference.  You really can.  By actively placing your own puzzle piece into the puzzle, you are personally helping.   It doesn't even take much.  Reach out to families that cope with autism and let them know how much you care.  Offer to help in any small way.  Teach your children kindness and acceptance, and the dangers of bullying.  

When we stand hand in hand together, we can see that picture on top of the puzzle box much more clearly.  The bright light that shines through the still-missing puzzle pieces asks you to join us.  Join our cause.  We become uplifted and start to care even more deeply.  We want to make a difference and raise awareness and acceptance.  We want to become the voice for our children, who can not yet speak and advocate for themselves; their fledgling wings are not yet strong enough to leave this nest.  Let's help uplift the children through their teen age years and into adulthood.  Help them reach their full potential of living meaningful and beautiful lives.  After all, isn't that what every parent wants for their child?  We know that our personal efforts can be a very powerful thing.  We may not be able to change our child's autism, but we can change the world to become a more accepting place - a place where everyone can contribute to society.  We can help the world embrace the autistic child with cradling arms of love.

Visit my blog:  

Lily and the Roses ~ 

Creativity with Autism, Twins and Military Adventures 

http://lilybrose1948.blogspot.com

Leave me a comment if you find any of my posts meaningful to you.  Feel free to share posts with your friends to help us raise autism awareness and acceptance.
 

Visit my other blog: 

Creationlily.blogspot.com 

This is where I display 

my artwork, music compositions and travel photos 

Stop by and share posts with your friends

Creationlily

Who Pressed the Fast Forward Button?

 

  This is the story of our family

We are an Air Force family with twins and a son that is living with autism.  I am a pianist, composer, music educator, and artist, and I like to do artsy things whenever possible.  My husband Alex, is a JAG and we are currently stationed at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama.

 Let's rewind a bit. 

Alex returned home from his deployment to Iraq during my last trimester.  The summer of 2009 was a very special one for our family.  I gave birth to our twins, Max and Miriam in May

The M & Ms

A few short weeks later, our son Jake who was 2 1/2 at the time, was diagnosed with autism and global developmental delays. 

Jake

Our life as we knew it was no longer on "Plan A."  It seems that most things after Alex and I had gotten married went the "Plan B" rout.  One was not better then the other--just different and mostly unexpected.

The twins at 6 months old and Jake at 3 years old

The Roses

It was all one big journey that took us for the ride of our lives.  That ride brought many twists and turns, and we couldn't see what was coming up ahead.  We couldn't even think about what the daunting challenges of the autism diagnosis would bring to our door.  Meanwhile, we were learning to parent twins, and at one point we had all 3 kids in diapers.


Those were some crazy days....some of the best days of our lives.  What did we do to cope? We slowly moved forward in baby steps until one day, without realizing it, we sort of got our balance.  We still piece it together every day with creativity and love.  Some days are better then others.  Many days, I reflect on how I could have coped with things better, but I let myself reboot overnight and try again the next day. 

Visit my blog:  

Lily and the Roses ~ 

Creativity with Autism, Twins and Military Adventures 

http://lilybrose1948.blogspot.com

Leave me a comment if you find any of my posts meaningful to you.  Feel free to share posts with your friends to help us raise autism awareness and acceptance.
 

Visit my other blog: 

Creationlily.blogspot.com 

This is where I display 

my artwork, music compositions and travel photos 

Stop by and share posts with your friends

Creationlily