Day 33



"Tell me, and I forget.  Teach me, and I remember.  INVOLVE me, and  I learn."

"If I could snap my fingers and be non-autistic, I would not- because then I wouldn't be me.  Autism is part of who I am."
~Temple Grandon

Grateful for Autism

There is a part of me- that when I typed that, "Grateful for Autism"...is that bad?
No.  I am grateful for autism.  I am grateful for what it has taught me, for what Austin has taught me.
Autistic kids cannot lie.  They don't know how.  They tell it as they see it.
Maybe more of us can learn from them.
Autistic kids flap their hands.  Sometimes in excitement, sometimes because it calms them.
Sometimes, flapping happens when this song comes on:

And truthfully, who DOESN'T want to flap when you hear this song?  (I do.)  :) 

And he...Austin...does have a pocket full of sunshine.  He teaches me many different things, and he makes me laugh.  Sometimes, he pisses me off...like when he grabs my ice out of my cup...and then he knows it pisses me off and its followed by a quick "Sorry Aunt Cleen."

He tells us all things about history.  (this is one reason why Grampie loves him so)...

He tells us about inappropriate you-tube videos that he should not watch.  He talks about Nazis and if you mention Hitler, it pisses him off and will send him into a rampage about what a "bleeping bleep" he was.

"Austin, Hitler is dead."

"I know, but if he wasn't, I'd kill the bleeping son of a bleep bleep."

So today, he taught me.  He taught all of us, that stamp collecting is cool.

Thanks, Grammie and Grampie for getting him this gift for Christmas, because we ALL enjoyed doing this with him.

The excitement that came upon his face when we found the correct stamp...was priceless.

And I learned you cannot eat or drink around stamps...and if you do, you can't touch them unless your hands are clean.

What an AWESOME snow day...

...what an AWESOME kid.  He warms my heart, and teaches me all the while.

God Bless you, Austin George White.