The Wolf Den Painting

"Updates from the Wolf Den" have a new look, with the addition of a special painting to my blog posts. A few people have asked about the name, the change to the painting, and its background, so I am happy to oblige.

The name 'Wolf' came about by accident, I suppose. When searching for pseudo-names for my sons during the creation of this blog, I randomly chose Bear and Wolf, not realizing until much later the connection and irony the name implied with respect to the journey with our oldest child. Wolves are animals who operate under a strict social hierarchy and those who cannot, or will not, conform to that hierarchy are deemed "lone wolves" and subsequently shunned from the pack. I added "Update from the Wolf Den" as a reminder to myself and to readers that Wolf may think he is alone in this life, but we will not allow him to be so.

The painting that has replaced my Husky/Wolf picture is not of my own doing, sadly. It is, however, a watercolor painting by my beloved uncle from Marysville, Washington, who gifted us with portraits of both our children from photographs I had provided him. The setting is Seward, Alaska, the last family vacation we had taken with Wolf two summers ago. Wolf is engaging in his favorite pastime, beachcombing, and had just finished building a stone wall to hold all the treasures found along Resurrection Bay. It is my favorite portrait and, I believe, speaks volumes about my son. It hangs alongside his little brother's portrait, from the same vacation, in our hallway.

Thank you for continuing to read about our journey, and keep passing along the blog address to anyone you may know who is traveling a similar road.

Where Are We, Again?

I am sure I must be mistaken. This sunny, hot stretch of weather cannot be in the Alaska I have known for almost four years. Not this place where I have been forced, under direction from the Anchorage Daily News' garden guru, to actually use my sprinkler for something other than a door stop.

Day Whatever of no measurable rain, and Alaska is on fire. Literally. On. Fire. There remain 62 active forest fires burning right now in the state, and due to a sluggish jet stream, most of the smoke has descended upon our little wilderness haven.

Smoke has been so thick that it has been declared "Unhealthy". The usual view of the green, lush Chugach mountains is obscured by interesting layers of smoke, and (this is the fun part)we have ash. Go figure, ash from a volcano in March, ash from a fire in July. We can't win.

The air smells like an overburned campfire and stings the eyes, including Dog's, whose tears have nothing to do with my refusal to give him the leftover pork chops.

Our photo montage of the week includes a BLM Fire helicopter swooping down upon the mommies and kids gathered at our local swimming hole to suck up water for a fire mere blocks away. Also shown is the view from our deck this afternoon, when Bear and I decided to make a break for it and go downtown (where the smoke is decidedly thinner) and visit our children's museum and have lunch at the Glacier Brewhouse. Sacrifices we make in the name of safety...

From the Wolf Den: Cover Story

Every one of us has a Cover Story; coping skills we have used to manage our lives since childhood. When life deals us a blow, big or small, we use such skills to work our way through and hopefully come out the other side a stronger person. Cope. Deal With It. Adapt.

Coping skills are vital to our survival, and their success or failure depends upon our willingness to choose appropriate ones and to use them even when it would be easier not to. For example, taking a long run or listening to soothing music, expressing our emotions verbally or drawing out frustrations on paper; all are appropriate choices when we are under emotional "attack".

Children with Asperger Syndrome have trouble coping with life in general, and the staff at CHYC, from Day One, establish appropriate coping skills which are then factored into daily life. The hard part is getting the kids to use them. So many are already using coping strategies that are not appropriate; from alcohol use to lying to violent temper tantrums, they are simply ways the kids have found to mask the real hurt. Constructive or appropriate, not so much.

Wolf's cover story is headlined by his virtual shut-down when a painful situation or topic is introduced. It is indeed a visible reminder of how far he has yet to go. The coping skills developed over a year ago are still present, but they are choice #2when they need to be #1. Covering him like a thick blanket, the negative coping mechanisms overshadow the positive ones, while the staff, and we, work like anything to remove that layer.

Come Visit and We'll Take You Here...

New favorite trip. Hands-down the best yet we've experienced. Train ride, raft float, icebergs, cocktails, and incredibly sunny weather. Ahhh, Alaska.....

Read and see more at AKontheGO.
Click "Find Family Fun".

How Time Flies

Someone asked me today how long we have lived in Alaska, and I had to stop and think a minute. Interestingly enough, or perhaps not so at all, I refer to our timelines as seasonal. Alaska, as I have mentioned ad naseaum, functions in so many ways dependent upon a particular season (or two, as we like to call them Winter and Un-Winter).

We arrived here in Winter. Just after Christmas, fresh from the deep South, and anticipating the many new stages of our lives, or so we thought.

Nostalgia trailed me this weekend, as I had time to catch up on a bunch of things that never seem to get done when Yukon is around (he was away fishing all weekend)

I hauled out photo albums to put away the stacks of pictures that seem to materialize out of nowhere, even with our digital storage on various computers. Alaska does that to you. I also took stock of what outdoor gear Bear and Wolf will need for their respective Winters to come (yes, we are already thinking of Winter, for it is but s few months away). Bear can fit into Wolf's ski helmet, he cannot yet fit into his long underwear, but I fear in a few years he, too, will grow like his older brother, leaving me high and dry for gear.

Sigh. Three Winters and Three Un-Winters. We're headed for Number Four. Amazing. Wish time had a tail.

Cheers, Sarah!

I'm watching an explosive version of our Channel 11 news tonight after an unbelievable announcement this afternoon by our governor hottie, Sarah Palin.

Apparently while my family and I were enjoying a pre-Independence day train ride and float trip down South, our Lady of the Day was hosting a press conference on the deck of her fancy Wasilla home. For the sake of the Alaskan people, she stated, wiping an imaginary tear from her imaginary-prescription glasses, Sarah Palin resigned as governor of Alaska, effective as of the date of the Governor's Picnic.

Oh. And why did this shake up occur? "It was the hell-yeah that clinched it," quoting the apparent votes by her family stemming from what must be a lousy way to live if you are the Palin children or Spouse.

There will be more, however. You betcha. As sure as Russia is right across the pond, there will be more. In the meantime, I'll raise a glass to certainly the most interesting year in Alaska politics...

Update From the Wolf Den

It's appropriate that we are coming up on Independence Day. I cannot think of a more fitting title for a weekend to kick off Wolf's first outing w/ his peers in almost a year.

Hitting the Super mark of the school's 'tier of success', Wolf was able to go with B. and a bunch of other stars to see 'Transformers' yesterday. This further convinces me that B. is a saint sent from heaven to attend willingly such a film with eight adolescent AS boys. From all reports everyone had a great time and succeeded in proving their ability to be like everyone else for a few hours.

Sounding excited and positive on the phone last night, Wolf was anxious to tell his dad all about the movie and outing. He sounded like any other teenager who had a night with his buddies...we'll take it.

Tomorrow the kids are going on a picnic; they'll have to participate in many preparatory activities and work together to accomplish their tasks. A tall order, but as B. says to us over and over; "once the light bulb goes on, it's WAY on".

Cross your fingers.