Gooooood Friday

Things that are happening in the Katzer house this Good Friday morning:

Walking to the bathroom to help Waylon, I reached down to pick up what I thought was a candy wrapper on the floor. The hallway was kind of dark. Hint: it was not a candy wrapper. I picked it up. I moaned for a while. Rose said, "Well that wasn't a very smart thing to do." I'd have to agree with her. While floor scrubbing, I hear her chasing Waylon through the house and yelling, "Waylon if you poop on our floor again you won't get kisses from me for a whole week!" I called Travis to yell at him, because that seemed like the only rational thing to do while washing poop off my fingers. He didn't answer (which ticked me off even more) so when the phone rang immediately back and I assumed it was him, I answered with a pretty grumpy "HELLO." The recorded voice on the line said, "Congratulations! You have won a Bahamas islands cruise!" And I thought "Sweet heavens as least something has gone right today." 

When I finished cleaning up the bathroom and the floor and Waylon, I came out to sit down and Rose had drawn me this picture of two people farting on each other. Lovely.

So today I'm counting my blessings. No matter how big or small they seem, my troubles are really trivial, thanks to the one who gave his life for me today. I saw a sign the other day that said, "Life is good. Eternal life is greater."

So true.

Hope you don't get poop on your fingers today.

And don't forget to count your blessings!

This is who I've become

The world of autism is so vast... and confusing... and overwhelming.
I spent the afternoon making phone calls, because I'm still trying to come up with a summer therapy plan for Waylon, and trying to figure out how to pay for it.
Insurance companies, in a word, suck. Sorry to be so harsh, but it's true. You know it is.
Well I was needing one specific bit of information this afternoon- a simple request that I knew would take for-ev-er if I tried calling the insurance company. I knew just the person who could help me. Only problem was, I hadn't seen/talked to her in ages. Nothing a little facebook stalking personal investigation couldn't handle. Seriously though, I facebook stalked her.
I found her, and she answered my question in a heartbeat. She didn't even seem that freaked out that some random woman from her past could figure out what company she worked for and her extension's phone number. (Ok I'm really sounding like a creeper now). She was really glad to be able to help out, and she even let me have her cell # in case I needed help again and didn't want to re-stalk her. (She must not have been too scared).
Anyways, my point in all of this is: when I got off the phone with her, I felt as though "it takes a village" couldn't be more true. We have met so many people on this journey with hearts of gold that we wouldn't be privileged to know, if it weren't for Waylon. I've said many good-byes and given many hugs to therapists, teachers, and paras through the years that have always been followed with, "If you or Waylon ever need anything, let me know." Maybe it's one of those cliché phrases, I don't know. But I like to think that these people are offering their support because Waylon is freaking adorable and everyone who gets the opportunity to work with him falls in love. And since these people have made it their career, they are usually fountains of knowledge when it comes to all things autism. If you have a kid with autism, these are people that you want to have on your side. We are so blessed to have each and every one of them in our village.
So I don't care if it's a cliché or not. If you are one of those people, please know that I haven't forgotten your offer. However, if you did not give me your business card or your number scribbled on a cocktail napkin, when the time arises that I need your help, I will probably facebook stalk you and your company and hunt you down. It's what I do.
This is who I've become.


PS- Megan. Thanks for your help today. Seriously, you are awesome, and I am so glad I found you. (Wait... does that sound creepy again?)

April 2nd Thoughts

 

Well our 5th Autism Awareness Day since Waylon's diagnosis has now come to a close. I hope he can feel the love that I know was spread for him yesterday. My heart swelled a little more each time I saw a profile pic turn blue. Amazing. Just amazing. And our family "lit it up blue" proudly. Including our trusty minivan, who, under the circumstances, did the best she could.
 

I mentioned on Facebook on the eve of Autism Awareness Day about the hellacious weekend we had, that had given me writer's block and kept me from writing my official Autism Awareness Day post. Our water line burst and we had to have it repaired, I got a speeding ticket during a long road trip on Sunday, and Travis hit a deer in the minivan on the way home from soccer Monday night.

The truth is, I was having a hard time writing about April 2nd anyways- after 5 years, I still don't really know how to feel about it. It's really not a day I want to have to celebrate, for us or any other family out there. So although I don't have some mind-blowing, philosophical post for you to read about what this day means for us, I do have a few random thoughts.

*You know, there are adults living with autism out there who say, if there were a cure, they wouldn't take it. They wouldn't change having autism because that's who they are, and they use April 2nd as a day to celebrate being who they are. I don't mean to undermine their feelings, and I really hope that Waylon can feel that way too, someday... But it's still really hard for me to understand.
Because I think autism sucks.
Waylon, God bless his mighty little soul, walks around everyday in a body he can't control, hearing sounds and not being able to respond, feeling pain and not being able to tell anyone... This is something he has to live with that I wish no child would ever have to experience. And I think he deserves this outpouring of support everyday of the year, not just April 2nd.
He is my hero.

*You may have noticed I have been asking for your support every Spring, to call and email legislators to get an insurance mandate for autism passed. Every year, it has fallen short. But this was the year. It passed yesterday in the Senate, and is headed to Governor Brownback's desk. Finally, after years of paying ridiculous amounts for therapy, our insurance will be required to cover a portion. Not only is this important for Waylon, but for thousands of other kids in Kansas who have never received any therapy because of the ridiculous costs. It's not a perfect bill- the coverage still falls short of Missouri and other states' insurance mandates. But hey, it's a start. Hopefully it makes a difference for the future of these 1 in 68 kids. Best Autism Awareness Day gift ever.

*Travis put Waylon in his car yesterday to go to his school, and as soon as he got back inside, I said, "Hey, what shirt did he wear today?" When Travis told me which one and asked why I cared, I reminded him that it was Autism Awareness Day, and he was supposed to wear blue. Trav just smirked and said, "Are you serious? He doesn't have to wear blue, he lives it."
So last night, in honor of Autism Awareness Day, I had a glass of wine. Because we live it.

*My original post was going to be 30 things you could do this month- Autism Awareness Month- in support of people living with autism. But this is as far as I got, so here goes:
1. Be a friend to someone living with special needs.
2. Thank God today for the gift of communication.
3. Get down on the floor and spend 15 minutes engaged in conversation and play with each of your kids- harder than you think.
4. Spend 30 minutes of your day without words.

Call it a challenge, call it some random thoughts from a crazy hormonal woman, whatever.
 

Lucy's first selfie, wearing blue for her
 big brother.