Playing Catch Up

So I realize I may have left some of you hanging. This blog is supposed to keep you updated on the happenings around here, and we've been through quite a little journey this fall/winter, none of which I have blogged about.
Waylon turned five a few weeks ago, and next year he is off to kindergarten, which seems so unreal.
We will be saying goodbye to the amazing preschool teachers and therapists we've had and diving into the scary world of kindergarten. I know it doesn't seem like such a big deal, but it is weighing on us more heavily than we thought it would.
You might have noticed my facebook post asking for prayers a while back (you probably did, judging by the fifty million phone calls and messages I got to make sure we were all ok). No one was dying- it was just the night before a rather stressful meeting with teachers, therapists, psychologists, and administrators from four different school districts, which I happened to be freaking out about. It seems a little silly now, because I'm really not the type to post sappiness on facebook, but those fifty million responses were just the reassurance I needed to get myself through that meeting the next day, and I appreciated each one of them.
And the meeting went great. I didn't even cry, which I was pretty stinking proud of myself for. (IEP meetings tend to get a tad emotional- if you've experienced one, you understand.)
And so far, we are just weighing all of our options, and making lots of phone calls and visiting lots of places to find out what is going to be the best fit for Waylon next year.

And as far as Waylon goes, he has been just absolutely great. Obviously, he is oblivious to the changes of next year. And for now, he is on this amazing streak of words. He is saying new ones all of the time, and even stringing them together. Of course, a lot of his spontaneous things are still just echoic responses- he knows when he hurts someone to say, "You okay?" and occasionally he'll run into a room and throw up his arms and say, "Ta-Da!" Just things he has heard and repeats, but it's cute as all get-out. And of course it melts my heart when I say "Love you" and he echos in his mumbly little voice, "Love you too."
As for me, most of you know, I graduated nursing school. I'd like to think that means blog entries will be coming out of the chute more frequently now, but I'm not willing to make any promises. It definitely means that I have more time to focus on the kids, and I have been able to be a bigger part of Waylon's daily schedule and working on his plans for next year, of course mixed in with a little job hunting.
And, I should add, we took this amazing vacation after Christmas to celebrate all we have accomplished this year. BUT that is a blog for another day...

A trip to Goodwill

Yesterday afternoon Rose and I found ourselves wandering Johnson County again, waiting for Waylon to be done at school. So we took a trip to Goodwill for a little bargain-shopping.
A few hours into our shopping experience, we decided to meander to the front of the store and get in line, so we could meander our way back to pick him up. A woman came in the store, following a boy who was pretty much running. He was bouncing up and down, eyes wide with excitement. (Obviously he was as excited about the Goodwill as I was.)
His mom (I'm assuming?) said "Wait" and he blurted out in his excited, but dysphasic voice "WAIT" and when she, in her mother-of-a-special-needs-kid way, herded him out of the way of others and said, "Come here, Ben," he blurted out an echo- "COME HERE, BEN."
Of course, I knew. In my mother-of-a-special-needs-kid way, I just knew.
First reaction- fascination. Second reaction- compassion.
I failed to mention that this "boy" was probably in his late teens, maybe even a young adult. I tried my darndest not to stare (I know what those daggers feel like) but immediately some fifty thousand thoughts flooded my mind, and I couldn't help it.
How old is he? How well does he function? Does he still live at home? Where does he go to school? What kind of therapies did they try? What worked? What didn't? I need to know!!!
When I realized I was probably staring, I realized what she saw in me at that moment, because I too, have had those thoughts- who do you think you are, with your cute little girl on a cute little shopping trip? You don't understand!
Oh, but I do understand, and I wanted nothing more than to run up and give that lady a big hug, and then bring her home with me and pour her a cup of coffee and sit and talk for hours.
But, obviously, she had a bit on her plate at that moment.
Perhaps too, years of those trips had given her the grace and strength to ignore those staring daggers. Perhaps she and her son were out for an enjoyable afternoon shopping trip. And perhaps they had a wonderful time.
I'm gonna hang on to that thought.
In the meantime, as I spend countless hours on the road to and from Waylon's therapies, I daydream and contemplate and pray, about where that fascination and compassion will lead me. I feel as though Waylon and this world of autism have given me some sort of a greater purpose- but I have yet to figure it out.
I'll keep you updated.