Don't even be jealous

To start off with may I just say a huge THANKS (it's in all caps, so it's like I'm shouting in your face right now) for all the support I've gotten from so many people and so many sweet comments e-mails, phone calls, Facebook messages, et cetera, et cetera. If you are my friend or my family, you are wonderful. And sweet. And delightful. And hilarious. And just all around terrific (pronounced ter-riffic, not tee-riffic. Unfortunately for me, the kiddos are going through this Barney-loving stage, and I swear if I'm going to have to listen to Barney one more time talk about how something is super-de-duper or tee-riffic, I'm gonna lose it. Or not. He has taught my kids to give me "a great big hug" and "a kiss from me to you"....so perhaps it balances out.)

Anywayyyyyyy.......sorry I don't always (or ever, really) comment or write back, but I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to my wonderful friends and family for your sweetness. You rock.

So down to the heart-to-heart. For the past couple of years I've been secretly jealous of all of my friends (and hubby) in school. I've even, may I say, dabbled at the idea of going back. Think about it: You go to these classes, learn things, do homework and learn more things.. and you maybe even make a few friends along the way. Also you can improve your skills.

(Like, what are my skills?
Well, you have a sweet bike. And you're really good at hooking up with chicks. Plus you're, like, the only guy at school who has a mustache.)

BUT GUESS WHAT? As of late my table more often than not looks like this:

I know what you're thinking. Jealousy. It's just like I have gone back to school! Textbooks and everything. And, yes, I am excited. And, yes, I've probably talked the ear off of at least 121 of my friends, family members, acquaintances, the hubs, about everything that I'm learning about autism, various treatments, therapies, intervention techniques. The works. Probably bored three-quarters (more like five-sixths?) of you to death with all of this info. Don't fret. You're not alone. There are others out there in your same boat silently thinking - nay, praying - that I would just zip it about all these new terms and acronyms and super exciting bits of knowledge that I now know. But I'll tell you, it feels empowering to be able to learn so much about my daughter and about other people on the spectrum, to be able to see and understand how everyone is so different and how people with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) think and understand things.

Lastly, I must say that I've recently picked up reading. Not reading transcripts. Reading for fun! Because reading is fun! And, no, this is not a sad attempt to try to promote the BOOK IT! program. It's not. But sweet black licorice, you can see how that's a good reward incentive though for those lucky kids because, let's face it, Pizza Hut personal pan pizza sure is tasty. Random tangent again? True as toast.

Anyway.. if any of my dearest friends love or like to read and need something new, the two latest ASD novels I've read are:
A Child's Journey out of Autism by Leeann Whiffen. It's about a mom's son who was diagnosed and their journey through an intense intervention program. Pretty good, and a book I could really relate with.
and
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. Warning though: The novel by Haddon has a quite a bit of swearing in it. But I found it super interesting. It's written by an autistic man in the first person and how he views the world. I can't believe how different his views and thoughts are from mine.

So that's probably enough rambling for tonight. I could leave you with a hilarious quote about something or something else, but, frankly, I'm tired, so that won't be happening. Instead I'll laugh to myself about the funny post I saw on Pinterest "Thoreal." I'm still laughing about it. Thanks for reading.