Mother's Day 2006

Happy Mother's Day!!!!! I am certain we'll all be busy doting on our children and OUR mothers to be posting tomorrow, so I thought I'd post today. Every mother deserves a big standing ovation (at the very least) for doing the most difficult, yet most rewarding job in the world. We receive no monetary payments for our job, our only chance for advancement is to "grandmother", but the love, caring, happiness, joy, satisfaction, and mommy-moments we are given in return are the best payment in the world - especially when they come in the form of, "Mommy, I love you."

Many of you moms out there have help in the form of a second parent, many do not, and are doing BOTH jobs. I salute ALL OF YOU. I have done both and both demand just as much from us. Phenomenal Women - yes, that's exactly what I call each of you.

I am so happy that PC has such a hard time holding on to gifts until it is time to give them. If he could hold out, then I wouldn't have gotten this beautiful bracelet - from Meem - until Sunday, instead, I got it Thursday! I am so excited to now have my very own autism awareness bracelt, made by A Ray of Hope, Autism Awareness Jewelry. Please check out the site, you'll love it! It was a wonderful gift and, of course, I cried. I think what really got me, though, was that SmallBoy knew - sort of - what it was. Meem, fabulous MIL that she is, had remembered that way back in November I had put an awareness bracelet on my birthday wish list, but it was just that - a wish list. What a truly meaningful gift this was and I am so happy. I will wear it always. I urge all fo you to please go and check out the site. The more aware we make people, the more that can be done AND the less ignorance there will be about autism. Oh, SmallBoy took the picture for me. He did a great job. He is so very proud that his mommy has this bracelet - and he knows that it is for HIM. Love him to pieces.

I wanted to delve into the listening therapy I spoke about the other day. Listening therapy looks like this. Headphones, a portable CD player (ours has a little waist pack so SmallBoy can be "hands-free"), and whatever else your child wants to do. SmallBoy listens in the morning before he gets out of bed and again, in the afternoon or evening doing whatever he wants. Sometimes he'll just hang out on the sofa and listen, sometimes he'll hop on the computer, other times, he'll listen while he's doing his homework. We changed discs on Monday at our last OT session. This time, J gave us a Mozart disc to help with modulation. I LOVE this one...of course, I love Mozart. SmallBoy, on the other hand, isn't too keen on it, which is surprising, because our musical tastes are very similar. Perhaps it is in the placement of the frequencies. On the last disc, the frequencies were very obvious, and on this disc, they're very subtle - placed in trills, violins, flutes, etc. I never had to remind him to listen to his music when we had the first disc, but this one takes a little prodding. We go back to OT on Monday. I'm curious as to what J will have to say about SmallBoy's lack of interest towards this disc. It doesn't seem to be having an adverse effect on him, though. I am noticing the same calmness, connection, etc, that I saw with the last disc. I am very eager to see the results of the whole program.

My mama and me! I'm sorry Mama - I know you'll hate the pic, but I would be remiss if I didn't post a pic of the two of us and our "better sides" tee hee tee hee...This pic was taken at the vocal competition last weekend. My Mama has always been there for me - whenever I've needed her. She has held my hand, she has cheered my on, she taught me how to walk - again - after life brought me down to a crawl. She has been my bodyguard and my safety, my cheerleader, my conscience, sometimes, even, my devil's advocate. I am truly lucky, blessed, and every other word under the sun to be my mother's daughter.

Meem - I have NO pics of you and me :-( . I must make it a point to get some! Not only do I have a wonderful mother, but I have the great fortune of having an incredible mother-in-law. Wow - that doesn't happen to many people (and, Mom, PC says the same of you). A good mother-in-law is hard to find, but one who is so loving, giving, selfless, generous, compassionate, and supportive is a treasure. I couldn't have been luckier!

My loves - my Mother's Day. I love them so much and cannot get over the joy they bring into my life. They have taught me so many lessons. One would think it is the parent who is the teacher, but truly, it is the children. They have taught me strength, discipline, how to love deeper than I ever thought possible. They have taught me defensive and offensive strategies. They have taught me generosity, humility. They have taught me how to live. My loves, how much do I love you? More than any little......

To all of YOU - mothers AND dads -I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day this year.