And I do appreciate all of you who stick with me, especially because I rarely get around to all of your blogs to comment anymore....
so today I thought I would write more than post art, but of course there will be some art. And I can’t say there is really a point to my story today... just sharing a bit of our life struggles. And I know our struggle with autism is just what we deal with. Everybody deals with something , and this is just what our something is.
It has been a tough last two weeks with my son, who most followers know has classic autism.
He was sick for about 5 days before we got him into the doctor (his regular doctor was unavailable) and this new doctor diagnosed him with strep throat and bronchitis, and gave him an antibiotic. Days later I called the doctor back because he wasn’t getting better and the receptionist clearly didn’t agree with me asking for a stronger antibiotic but she did get the message to Jace’s regular doctor, who immediately called in a stronger prescription and then Jace actually did start recovering. His level of Autism makes it hard because Jace can’t tell you it hurts or where or how much so we just guess from his body signals and such. Plus he has a really strong pain tolerance so by the time he shows his pain it is really bad. He was up all night coughing for at least a week, and my husband and I took turns staying home from work with him.
Then the day after he was starting to get better our furnace broke and it was COLD in our house for hours. He just did not understand why I was expecting him to keep his sweatshirt and socks on, and was starting to get mad. I finally just got him bundled and took him to McDonalds in a nice heated car, and before you think how unhealthy McDonald’s is, you have to realize it is his favorite thing to do in the world: go for a ride and get French fries! He laughs all the way there on the 15 minute drive! Anyway, the heating guy had us fixed up shortly after returning and the house warmed up and all was well again. And today he is back at school and life will return to normal again.... (well normal for us.)
Jace is just such a brave man, you can’t help but love him.... truly!
What a lovely painting! I am glad your son is feeling better.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much
DeleteThis post made me cry because the struggle is real. I had that cough for several weeks and can't imagine someone not being able to explain it!! You are a fabulous mother doing what you can...as parents we do what works!! Then after the struggle we see his happy photos with the dog, topped off with the sweetest artwork and card ever!! He picked the best mom to love him!! All the best for Jace and you during the holiday season!!
ReplyDeletePeace Giggles
Well I didn’t mean to make you cry.... but you are almost making me cry as well. Thank you for your kind words but like you said; it is just what parents do. What else could we do than just keep trying to help him... and he is so strong! Hope you have a great holiday as well!
DeleteI cannot imagine what you and hubby, and Jace must go through on a daily basis. Positive thoughts and prayers are with you all. Glad you got your heat back and that dear Jace is on the mend. Love how joyful he looks with his dog. And your Christmas drawing- a bit wistful but oh so charming!! Wishing you all the best. Happy PPF!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much... I always appreciate you stopping by to comment, and yes, I love how happy he looks in this photo! He is a sweet boy, and feeling so much better. Have a happy holiday!!
Deleteglad he is feeling better :) and nothing wrong with going to Mcdonalds if it makes a person happy and not cold
ReplyDeletegreat photo of him with the big dog :)
Thanks! And yes it does make him happy!!! Thanks for stopping by
DeleteI love that Jace's favorite thing is McDonalds fries! It used to be one of mine until they stopped using tallow to fry them in. lol So glad he is feeling better and I love your blog no matter what the posts contain. Your art always inspires as does the way you share your life in this way too. This kind of sharing is what most of the social media world can never really replace, and though it may be rarer all the time as blogs are no longer the "hot thing", someone will stumble across this post and it will change them, or help them, in some small way that you may never know of. . . but it will happen. That's just the magic of our world. :) Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the drawing at the end. Christmas songs make me so nostalgic and none more than that one. . . my grandmother's favorite. I love the way the words fall across that page. Like different sized word-flakes. :) No two alike! Beautiful!
So glad my piece reminded you of your grandmother. My grandmothers favorite was Burl Ives.
DeleteAnd thank you so much for your comments about my blog changing or helping someone. I mean that is the goal isn’t it, with all this sharing! That is why I do not want to give up my blog even though I am loving Instagram lately. They are each such different ways of connecting.
That said I saw somewhere that you commented you were thinking of getting on Instagram! I do hope you do, I think right now so many people are on Instagram and it is so easy to reach a LOT of people it would help you with promoting your writing. Not to replace a blog, but to do as well!
My grandmother love Burl too. :)
DeleteI am looking forward to trying instagram. I set up my account but am waiting for the New Year when I'll have a load of new pics to start with. We've taken this month, not completely off, but we've deferred as much as we could to the new year. It's been so nice to actually not be working day and night in December and having time to write, make new things with no stress or rush and enjoy the holidays a bit more. :)
And yes, I am wanting to use instagram to self-promote and be inspired more than anything. It's funny, I'm not against social media really, despite my often negative views of it. . . I just like the sense of anonymity which is why facebook never appealed to me. Well, that and the sameness of everyone's page design. I was a cyber-child of MySpace where you could be completely creative with your page design and it really reflected who you were. I remember some people not wanting to be on it because they felt intimidated that other people had such magical looking pages (when and if the html loaded, lol) and I always felt, just creatively, that facebook leveled that playing field by minimizing the creativity aspect which, of course, appealed to more people. Of them all, Instagram does seem the most like what I would want to be a part of sooooo YAY! I'll be sure to come and find your feed when I have it up and running. :)
Amazing story. . .too many in this country like that. Love the drawing and 'dreaming. ..' Those were the days. Blessings, Janet
ReplyDeleteYou are a wonderful mother and a tough and wonderful women and I adore you! I often visit your blog because I love your art and you made a wonderful decision to share your life experiences as well. It often gives me strength to read your every day posts and I thank you so much for sharing a real life. I was really touched when I read your recent post and I am so glad your dear son feels much better now. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
ReplyDeleteI can see the wonderful in his face. And, hey thank the gods for McDonald's a place where you and your son can share laughter, memories and some fries. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a happy 2018.
ReplyDelete