Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy

Every so often you have one of those days when everything seems to fall into place. Not that everything goes right, but even if things goes astray, it doesn't bother you. You can smile and be really pleased happy. Everything is taken in a good way, even the negative things roll off like water on a duck. It's a great day overall. It's really too bad these days don't happen too often... or do they?

Do these days happen more than we think they do? If we asked our autistic twins, and they could answer, I believe they would answer - YES! Just watching them play, interact and simply go about their day, you would hardly ever guess that they'd be bothered by anything. (Unless you saw a meltdown or episode of course). They have been such a blessing for us, we have learned to see things from a whole new perspective with and because of the boys.

The 1st picture above was taken at our local children's hospital on a night when Anthony had gotten so sick he was throwing up, his fever had gone up over 104*. The doctor confirmed that even though the flu test was negative, he was sure he had one of the flu's not tested for. By the end of the visit Anthony had a few juices and was all smiles. We could tell he still felt lousy, but he was smiling all the way home. Even as he fell asleep that night, that smile was still there. The 2nd picture is one where Daniel, after being told several times to stop "clearing off" the shelf (throwing everything on the floor), decided instead that he was the one who should be on the shelf. Instead of getting upset because everything was on the floor, I grabbed the camera - definitely the better choice.

Happy, Happy Joy, Joy

Growing up, we weren't "suppose to": play in the mud; play with water (except when and where it was appropriate); walk through puddles (especially don't splash without rain boots); the list goes on and on. As adults we learn that some of those "childhood no-no's" were for our own safety, while others were more about our parents not wanting to deal with the aftermath. So my philosophy is: "dance in the rain, jump in the puddles (with or without rain boots)". Live, learn, enjoy and love.

As we learn more about ASD (autism spectrum disorder), we've come to realize that everything we can expose our boys to (that won't harm them of course) will only help them grow, us too. The autism makes it more difficult to explain some things to the boys, they are definitely ones who learn by doing instead of learning by simply being told. Because they are so "sensory", they need all the different sensory input they can tolerate. It helps them develop their own senses, find what they can and can't tolerate, etc.

We also don't force them to "try" anything, but we do give them several opportunities to try something. They usually become curious enough to eventually try something, food or other. Probably 5 out of 10 things they will try over and over again. This allows them to try new things and helps us to evaluate what's important when we set "rules". So, don't just stop and smell the roses, inspect them, feel them. Walk on the grass (unless it's someone else's and they've posted not to).

From a mother's heart -  If you can't dance in the rain, at least jump in the puddles and:   Find the "Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy" in your life