SNAPSHOT FROM MY LIFE

by Heather the Jane

Not the best picture of me, but still a pretty good picture overall. And definitely – definitely – a snapshot from this writer's life.

I have two great sons. Brandon is my eldest, and the tall, handsome man in this pic is my youngest son, Conor. He's 14 and severely autistic. Did I mention I'm proud as I can be of them both? Well, I am.

So in this snapshot, notice the cupboards, or rather lack thereof, in places? When a six-foot tall autistic boy decides he wants to take down a cupboard door when no one else is in the kitchen, well, down it comes. Yes, it can get a little bit chaotic here. See the blue blob in my hand as I hug him? That's a balloon. I spend quite a bit of time on sunny days filling them full of cold water for him to play with out on the deck. He pokes little holes in them and watches the water spurt out. Time-consuming for sure. Oh, and notice the clutter on the edges in the pic? Geez, if you could only expand this view! But, hey, I'm a busy mom and a writer. The clutter will wait for me – I have every confidence. (BTW: what you cannot see in this photo is my complete lack of guilt over this ... trust me, it's totally there.)

But what really stands out to me as I look at this snapshot from my life, is Conor's happiness. Right smack in the middle of it all. I mean, he's about to play water balloons (!) and getting a hug from his Mama on this summer's day. All this after a lunch of hotdogs with mustard and having played with his brand-new Mr. Potato Head. Hey, but see what else is in this picture? Can you see how happy he's making his mama right now? How much fun we're both having? Enjoying these moments in time together regardless of what's around us? Right through the chaos and clutter and busy-busy world, doesn't the love just jump right out through it all?

Definitely – definitely – a snapshot from my life.

Conor's dad, Harold,  blogs frequently about autism. If you're interested in checking his blog out, see link Facing Autism in New Brunswick (Also on the sidebar under my favorites.)