Thanks Styx

Hi all,

Have you ever heard that song...."Too Much Time On My Hands"?  Well, right now, that is me.  I recently had surgery.  Surgery is always hard...granted, I am doing really well.  Really well!  BUT, I have way too much time to think about things.  And one of those things is really a reflection.  And part of my reflection is because of  book I have read called, Kids Deserve It!  Kids deserve to be loved.  They deserve to be noticed and in the teaching profession, sometimes kids put on a persona.  One that hides who they are....and I so get that!  I do it too!

For me, my disguise may come in a different form.  Almost like everyday is Halloween.  I dress up, I put on make-up, I accessorize.....all those things make me feel good but they can also be a cover up.  Like hiding.  But why?  Why is it that adults don't want to bother anyone with their emotions and problems?  Why?  In my mind, I think that I just don't want to bother anyone.  But a good friend said...."It takes a village..."  She is right. It takes a village to raise kids but also to raise adults.  Now I don't need raising at all.....but, I do need emotional support!  Being a mother to an autistic child is hard....and a joy, all at the same time.

OK but now back to that surgery thing.  I feel helpless....my poor JB has to understand that mom is different right now.  And at first it was okay.  But 6 days later....a new worry has shown up.  JB has sobbed daily about getting his "regular mom" back.  He "hates' this new mom....the new mom who cannot help him at all because I physically CANNOT at the moment!  He has risen to the occasion...he has started putting himself to bed, he is eating without help, he is even dressing himself!  Those are huge successes....HUGE!  I have had to do everything for him but he is proving to us all that he can be self-sufficient.  And that's what I want for JB.....for him to be able to help himself.  And to have the confidence that all kids, and adults, deserve!  But to have that....sometimes a supportive word of encouragement is necessary.....one smile, one compliment, one joke can carry a person far.  Kids need that, adults need that....and that's what humanity has in common!  We all need support in one way or another.....it does take a village!  I am learning to be okay with that!

TTFN
Martha