A Little About Us

I just learned a big lesson - Save and save often!  I just completed my second post and during editing, lost the entire thing...AGGHH

Before I begin please let me say it is not my intent to hurt anyone's feelings or to offend anyone in anyway with my words.  I apologize if I do.  I simply want to help and feel called to help those who are effected by Autism.

Let me begin to describe how our journey began.  As I've mentioned before, Josh and I are parents of four young and very active boys.  Jack is 14, Matthew 12, Patrick 10 and Peter brings up the rear at age 8.  We are celebrating the even years.  Josh and I could probably write a book about planning a family.  Each son is almost exactly spaced two years apart.  Two born in August and two in September.  Family planning is where the book would end, because our parenting is not exactly...textbook.

We had just celebrated the baptism of Peter - I was still home on maternity leave - and Josh calls me from work.  He had just received a call from his Dad, which was unusual during the day, and needed to tell me about it.  You know how you get this feeling that you know something is going to be bad.  My heart immediately lept into my throat and my stomach began twisting and turning.

Josh began to describe the call he had with his Dad, John.  John told him about a conversation he and his wife Bev heard between both of our Mothers during the party the day before.  Our Mom's were talking about Patrick and how they thought he may have, or at the very least might be showing signs of Autism, but neither one knew how to approach Josh nor I on the subject.

Side Bar:  Please if you are a Grandparent, Aunt, Uncle, Best friend, or sibling, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE just tell the parents.  (as kids we are raised to talk to our parents about anything - no matter what), so I encourage everyone to remember this.  We may be your kids, but you can tell us anything!  This is what I am so passionate about and hope to ultimately encourage others to do...talk about it.

I will never forget that day.  It still brings tears to my eyes just remembering it, but if we don't share, how will others know?

So, Josh and I did, what we always do, we developed an action plan.  We have never been hand wringers - as much as I live my life by emotions - you will become to learn, that I am a crier.  I pretty much cry at everything - joy, fear, anger, hope, celebrations, Mass, all pretty much bring tears to my eyes.  We wanted to know, so we called our pediatrician, and then began to Google.

Patrick couldn't have Autism.  Weren't those the kids who wore helmets and banged their heads against the wall?  (please, again, I do not mean to offend, but to explain my grossly inaccurate perception of the condition)  I looked up and took the crash course on Autism that Google and the authors of Wikipedia provided.  I was convinced, Patrick did not have Autism.  He talked (briefly), he laughed, he interacted with us (in the immediate house hold), yes, he did hide under the table during Peter's baptism party, but wasn't that normal?...

Well the day arrived, the three of us sat in the pediatrician's exam room waiting.   You know the one, the room that is lined with zoo animal wall paper, walls covered with children's pencil drawings hanging next to the inspirational Successories wall art about Team Work.  I'm busy preparing my list of Patrick's developmental milestones ready to prove to the Doctor that Patrick doesn't and couldn't have Autism and Josh, the rock, is silently worrying.

We walk through our concerns, she answers questions about how many words does he know, does he gesture, can he walk.  He's passing with flying colors.  Then, its Patrick's turn to demonstrate his tricks and skills.  All of a sudden Patrick becomes extremely interested in the commercial wall art, and begins to identify all of the letters in the words Team Work.  That was it!  He passed the test, he didn't have Autism!  The Doctor didn't see it, and we never did.  What a relief!  We immediately went home and called our parents letting them know Patrick was fine, all was good, he didn't have Autism!

Well, as you know, we were wrong.  But more about that next time.  From the intersection of Hope and Love.

A Beginning...

Well, here I am, standing at the corner of Hope and Love, in Batavia Ohio.  Married, with four boys, working as a full time marketing and communications professional.  I've tried to do this many times before, and can't tell you why I'm actually going through with it now.

It could be the fact that my oldest son is heading to high school in the fall, or that I needed a good thing to do for my Lenten giving back.  I'm not sure, and you probably don't care. 

If you are looking for a blog that will be professionally written, funny and well thought out, this one isn't for you.  What I can promise is a real account of what it is like to be a working mother of four young and highly active boys - one who has a very high functioning form of Autism (PDDNOS - Persuasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise Specified), and a wife, who fails miserably at all of it, but loves them and every moment we share!

I want to thank two young and very valuable friends of mine for providing the inspiration and encouragement that I needed to really begin.  They have no idea what they did or even that they were doing it.  They just asked me a few questions during a meeting, and two hours later, we were still sitting and talking.  They were listening to this crazy 40-something lady telling parenting stories and laughing.  Thanks to you both.  You provided me with two hours of kindness and therapy, which helped me find the courage to begin something I've wanted to do for more than eight years.  Encourage others, friends, families, and individuals with Autism, to do more, to be more.  

So there you have it.  If you've accidentally stumbled across this blog, I hope, and I pray, that this provides you a tiny piece of encouragement, from the corner of Hope and Love.