Lately we have been going to places that we don't frequent that often, like the Wal-Mart on Grape or the fancy Martin's by Granger because you just get tired of going to the same old stores. I have been noticing the stares, which have never really bothered me before, but it is starting to get on my nerves. They are not stares because we have a ton of kids, they are stares at the boys' behavior. I guess that I am used to their little quirks. It doesn't seem odd to me to call Edwin "Kratos" or that Tobey has a chewy tube, (ok, that one was odd for me in the beginning). But to us it is all just second nature.
When we go to the park we usually go to Kids Kingdom, there is only 1 exit and Tobey can play with rocks. But for the photos the other day we went to Leeper and Edwin being his quirky self, was getting treated like a disease from some other kids. It simply broke my heart, the really sad thing that he didn't get the hint that the other kids didn't want to play with him. So, I had to intervene and try to interest Edwin in something else, which was not easy because he is still a boy who would like to play with someone else than his sisters.
When did it become wrong to not be cookie cutter? I love the fact that kids are not clones, they are humans with personalities. And if Edwin wants to be "Kratos" than go for it. If Tobey insists on playing with an egg beater and not the $40 toy that I got him (and waited in line for), than let him. But no matter what I want all my kids to know that they should be themselves, (I know how ironic it is that 2 days ago I had them all dressed the same!).
I am currently reading a book by Temple Grandin, if you don't know who she is then you should Google her. If you have someone that you love that has Autism than you NEED to know everything that you possibly can about her. She is the first person to ever be on the spectrum and able to verbalize what it is like to live in that world. HBO just did a movie about her with Claire Danes that was amazing. Now I have read up on Autism for a very long time, but this is so different in the fact that I can finally "see" what Edwin and Tobey "see". One of the things that frustrated me the most is their tantrums or meltdowns, According to her book it is like they lose that chunk of time, they have no memory of it what so ever. I can no longer get frustrated with them, they just don't know any better. By the way this woman's parents were told to just commit her into a facilty and she now has her Ph.D. in animal science. She does the strange obsession with cows and Star Trek, I just kinda skip over those parts.
Well today we are yet again working on the lead problem, I am getting to a point that I think that I may want to have party when we are done with all of this, I am simply getting sick of dealing with this pesky element.
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