My son turned 20 today.
My baby boy.
My little man with autism and a side of mood disorder…
..is 2 decades old.
When I look at him it seems like yesterday that I started researching digestive disorders while my family .. slept.
It seems like just yesterday that I read every book on parenting kids with Autism.. and every book on Childhood Bipolar.. Reading 4 inch books on the “science of the chemistry of the mind”.. while my friends read a funny romance.
It seems like yesterday when I questioned whether I was doing a good enough job … with tears running down my face.
And I can remember it clearly when Simon leaned his head on my shoulder and said “With God, all things are possible.”
How is it possible that this young man has come so far?
No longer a boy that is silent.
No longer a boy that hides his face in my shoulder.
No longer a boy who watches from the doorway.
Here stands a boy that walks confidently through doors. A boy that sings in front of a whole auditorium of people.
Here stands a boy who easily orders his own food at a restaurant.
Here is a boy .. who amazes me in every way.
Two decades of work have flown by…
… I can’t wait to see where the next 2 decades take him …
Some people look at my son .. and see a disability.
exciting…
Sometimes after a storm, I walk through my yard just to see what blew in. My favorite finds are nests. I find them fascinating!
High above my head.. on a solid branch.. a solid built nest. It wasn’t as delicate as some of the beautiful nests I had found .. and definitely NOT as pretty..
… and on the backside I found some creepy critters..
My brother sent me a picture of the pumpkins he is growing in his yard. The pumpkins he had not meant to plant.
Those pumpkins took the seeds we gave them.. and didn’t just sprout.. and blossom.. they grew into beautiful fruit..
Those students are just like the pumpkin blossoms that I find in my garden. So beautiful.. so open to the world.. so ready to grow into their full potential..
We planted a garden this summer.. the way we usually do.. Planned which vegetables we wanted to plant.. the way we usually do. And then my husband installed the irrigation system.. the way he always does..
YES.. the tomatoes were a good find.
My garden is full of ALL KINDS of interesting things. I pulled out unique plants I have never seen before, beautiful weed flowers.. and huge pricker bushes.
As we traveled home from dropping my daughter off at her first apartment, we pulled off on a scenic overlook.
Here was a tree who had lived in an environment full of difficulties and right next to a turbulent body of water.
Today is Friday the 13th .. one of the most superstitious days for some people…
..in fact? Maybe it is foolish for me to go naively into the world .. ASSUMING that I will be able to handle any bad luck that comes my way.
I watched my son run down the shoreline today.. kicking sand in the direction of his sister. He didn’t even try to be sneaky about it. Laughing at his own antics, he would wait for his sister to splash him in return.. My daughter would pretend to be offended .. and then they repeated the whole scene again.
And most importantly?
Last night, I watched the beautiful colors fill the sky as the sun set behind the trees. The brilliant display was only accentuated by the play of lights and shadows.
We blink and our kids grow up too fast.. We blink and months pass by..
Yesterday was Easter.. and we headed out into nature to recharge..
Jules Nelson 