I am a quite small boy

One of the techniques employed to help Graham stay focused on his school writing is letting him photocopy his completed work. The photocopies then come home, so he can show us what he's done. His handwriting has dramatically improved in the last two weeks, but I just came across an almost illegible letter he'd written a classmate about a month ago for a "guess who" project.

Dear Max,

Guess who I am! I have straight brown hair and really dark brown eyes. I am a quite small boy.

I like to swim and I like trains. My favourite thing is the computer. I love Jack!

Love from ?

The line, "I am a quite small boy," makes me smile.

Driving Away Fear part 2

When Jason and I decided to move to England, there were a number of concerned people worried about how we'd survive without a car. I generally responded that I didn't plan to drive -- the left side of the road thing was too intimidating. But after a few months, a car came our way & the left side didn't seem so scary. Unfortunately, we could only drive on our U.S. licenses for one year.

Now I feel like I've been re-enfranchised. This morning I passed the British Driver's Exam. It took almost five months for paperwork to clear (thanks to a medical quirk of mine) just to get a learner's permit & then three attempts at the on-the-road exam. But now I can take my kids to church or to swim class without the expense of a taxi! Huge blessing!

Screen Time

Our house came stocked with a small, very yellow television which resides in the basement because we don't watch it. (Instead the kids think that TV means logging into BBC iPlayer & picking out whatever program they want.) But every six month that, plus other random bit of things with plugs come upstairs so an electrician can verify that they are sound.

Jason just brought up the television & Graham asked excitedly, "Is that a new computer?"

What I Hear at 5:30

One common trait among autistic kids is that they don't sleep a lot. Graham is exceptional in that he's generally in bed from about 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. That's not to say that he's continuously asleep -- I often hear him yelling "Mommy!" with some urgency once or twice a night. And he's usually awake before 6. This morning he showed up in our room at 5:30. When he appeared in the doorway, I mumbled, "Hi, Graham." As he clambered up to snuggle for his remaining 30 minutes of mandatory "you must be in bed" time, he showed his propensity for charming word choices when he asked, "Mommy, did you hear me clattering up the stairs?"

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

If I've calculated right, Jason has spent about 2 1/2 days on buses, trains, & airplanes in the last two weeks. His first jaunt, to Stanford, California, took 24 hours just to get there. A flight home, four days of recovery, & then back on a plane to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (I wonder how many frequent flier miles he's earned in the past fourteen days -- enough that we could go somewhere nifty for our upcoming 10th anniversary?)

Yesterday, Cami came in as I was wallowing in the warmth of the tub & accused, "Didn't you do this yesterday?" Yes, indeed I had. And same rules apply: No fighting! Mommy is not to be interrupted!

Except that about ten minutes later I heard the front door open and grown-up steps on the stairs. Jason's re-routed train hadn't taken as long as I'd expected. . .and I'm so glad when Daddy comes home.

Lap Laughs

Graham was sitting on my lap, eating beignets (don't you love the chaos of our breakfast bar), when Rosie decided she needed to sit there, too. I protested her attempts to climb up with the reminder that I don't really have lap space -- the growing baby is eliminating it. But she figured out a way to wedge herself between the baby belly & Graham. Despite my discomfort, I had to laugh when Graham mumbled around his breakfast, "It's ok, Rosie. I'm not crowded."

Frosted Fairyland

The snow started to fall when I was dropping off Graham at school. Then Jason and I put Rosie in the car & drove to the Bolton Abbey Estate. But instead of going to the abbey itself, we went to the woods. And with the snow just adding a bit of frosting to the world, we got to see the beautiful greens of moss, ferns, and holly (although less so in photos) making the world look magical.