Well Dash My Hopes and Call Me Grumpy

I'm not usually adverse to bad weather. In fact, most times I rather enjoy the chance to relax indoors with an extra cup of coffee and the woodstove while finding time to catch up on all the stuff I allow to pile up on the sunny days. Today, however, I'm rebelling.

This. Weather. Sucks. 50 mph winds, snow/rain combo (it doesn't even have the decency to make up its mind), and a temperature gradient that goes from 45 to 34 in a few minutes' time. Sheesh.

The front door has blown open a few times today, much to the grand excitement of Bear and Jasper, who rush downstairs in surprise, wondering who would dare open our door without their permission. Since most of the snow is gone from roadways, a swirl of trash now occuplies every gutter, spare mud puddle, and now the air, riding on the gusts like an ugly bird.

the rain/snow drops are just starting to tap on my office window and the gusts whistle in between our sadly unimproved eaves. What is this, February in Seattle?

I'm going to bed with my heating pad and a mug of tea with whiskey.

He Can R-E-A-D!

I find myself speaking phonetically these days, as our youngest, little Bear, has decided he wants to finish the job of learning to read, and quick.

Yukon is upstairs with Bear right now engaging in a little before-bed story time, covering all the labeled details of a Richard Scarry book from my youth. I love those Busy Town books. I can hear Yukon from down here: "Sound it out (that must be a parent-phrase programmed in our brains...) C-A-NNNNNN." I fear our conversations will never be the same after this.

Enough for tonight; I'm about ready to cower under my covers because I feel the beginnings of a cold coming on, and besides, the weather outside is positively nasty; screaming wind gusts, mountain snow, and a 20 degree drop in temperatures. Ugh.

But I wanted to share the good news that everyone in this family, finally, can read. That's my boy.

Alaska and Asperger Syndrome: Finally Unfiltered

I was recently asked to write a series of articles for the Tundra Telegraph, an online magazine/news outlet that focuses on issues of interest to Alaskans and the world. It has been a fascinating look into our state and I am humbled to be a part of their contributing team.

The series is titled "Northern Composure" and talks a bit about our family's journey through Asperger Syndrome and behavioral disabilities, as well as some of the challenges we face as a society when talk turns to continuing care. The series will continue on a monthly basis at least through the summer.

It is gritty, it is personal, but it needs to be said. And I'm glad to be the one.

You can read the piece here.

From the Wolf Den: Wordsmithing

I like words. Reading them, writing them, rolling their meaning around and around as I delve into a particular context. Words are my world, and when computer technology as a tool for communication complicated the business of words, I had some 'splainin to do.

Remember when email first came out, and no one knew the rules? Rules like typing in all caps meant one was virtually shouting at the recipient, or not using any capital letters at all in the interest of quick response, as if the message would somehow disappear if we didn't respond right now? Sometimes communication becomes murky when we stare at a message from another individual and the meaning is not altogether clear. I cannot see the person, thus I cannot tell what he or she was feeling at the time the message was created. Was he/she angry? Happy? Tired that day? Not understanding the format? Too often I have hit the Reply button too quickly. Shot first and asked questions later, with frantic back pedalling into apologies and misunderstandings.

I wonder if this might be how Wolf sees people. Since his brain cannot process facial expressions or social cues, perhaps he sees people as an email; a slate of words on paper with no emotion attached. Stark, black-on-white, just simply there.

We all had to digest the social mores attached to email and social networking lest we fall behind. Kids with Asperger's must learn, too, how to look, listen, and respond appropriately. Patience, world. It took a years for computer etiquette to become the norm. It will take at least that long for Wolf.

More From the Land Up North

I think I can smell rain in the air. Walking the dog tonight there was a distinct aura of droplet-precipitation after so many months dealing with the frozen type. I always wake up in the middle of the night when it rains outside; the sound on the roof is one I savor each year. Of course, the photo above has nothing to do with rain, but it seems an appropriate metaphor for our lives these days. A little reckless, a little nutty, that's us.

Easter week was a lovely one; we had bright blue skies and warm temperatures hovering in the upper 40's to low 50's, enough to convince Bear it was time to put on his "short pants" and flip flops. He is a constant source of amusement to the folks in our community. Glad we can oblige.

Yukon is busy these days working dilligently to ensure a smooth grand opening of the new Department of Veterans Affairs building near our home. After almost five years in the current dump, er location, we all will be glad to see veterans receiving care in a beautiful new facility. He is one of the Tour Guides responsible for leading employees, vets, and the public around, and gee but he is good at it. I almost feel as if he has a second career calling him...

I'm supposed to be doing some writing of other sorts tonight, but was distracted, as I often get these days, by my online life. I'm working on the participant guide for the 2010 Anchorage Mayor's Marathon this month, and prepping ourselves for a summer full of trips. We're going to head back down to Haines in SE Alaska for a week in June, then to Homer end of June with visiting family, then over to Lake Clark for a long weekend at a fly-in fishing lodge, then, gosh, I forget....oh yes, back up to Fairbanks for the Tanana Valley Fair and a self-described "Alaska-Grown" tour of the area's agriculture. Whew.

I'll need a vacation when school starts in August.

Wolf's Mother is Speechless

I am utterly overwhelmed by the responses from yesterday's World Autism Day awareness campaign. As is the case with many a "call to action", I discovered yesterday many, many people who, like our family, currently live with or know someone who lives with an Autism Spectrum disorder.

Awed by many things in this world that I see every day, I nonetheless was brought to a virtual standstill by the outpouring of support. Nobody should have to do this alone. Thanks to my peeps, I don't have to...

For the World's View

Our lives are filled with the Autism spectrum in one form or another. Email updates, new statistics, blog posts, phone calls; not a day goes by without a reminder that one of our family members suffers from a disorder that will follow him the rest of his life.

Tomorrow, April 2nd, is World Autism Awareness day. Let's remember the one in 150 children and their families who are affected, and what true research might be able to provide some day to alleviate lifelong struggles. We can pray that it will be in our lifetime.

We can also hope that a day like tomorrow builds a bridge from rejection to acceptance, and cements that bridge with the Golden Rule of "treating others as you would like to be treated".

Maybe a day focusing on awareness will help other parents, educators, and peers feel compelled to stop, look, and listen to the inward desires of a child with Asperger Syndrome; to be wanted, loved, needed, included.

Give this song a listen, if you will. Just a bunch of guys on a stage, not in a showy concert, but mostly unplugged. They're kind of grubby, kind of funny looking, but the words they say might just explain more than I ever could.

Listen here.

"I feel the waves crashing on my feet

It's like I know where I need to be

I can't figure out Just how much air I will need to breathe
When your wave crashes over me

There's only one way to figure out

Will you let me drown...will you let me drown

Hey, now, this is my desire

Consumes me like a fire

'Cause I just want something beautiful

to touch me...

I'm waiting for

Something beautiful..."

(Needtobreathe-"Something Beautiful")