Driven Wednesday
our autism journey
“The internet is out,” Owen said before I had time to even process he was standing in front of me. The squeal came next and the words again. The internet was in and out last night when I finally fell asleep well after midnight. I didn’t leave the backup connected to his tablets so he was upset when it wasn’t working. I got it connected but it kept trying to connect to the old internet so it was constantly going in and out. “Sure go get you some lights sure go get you some internet,” he said as I was trying to turn the light on and he keep switching it off. That is his general response when he wants something and it isn’t going his way. He needed the lights off and the internet on. I finally disconnected the router and modem completely so it wouldn’t keep trying to connect again. I ordered a router and modem combo and it was being delivered with my groceries first thing in the morning. These modern-day conveniences have helped me out on more than one occasion. The dude was on a word roll. “Make a sentence in two words,” he said. Every which way he was all about words and languages this morning before it was even eight o’clock in the morning. It is also amazing that he knows how to translate things into Turkish when Siri can’t translate into Turkish yet. He asked her to translate so many words again. “Something went wrong please try again in Arabic,” he requested from her. I was on with tech support for over an hour trying to get my internet working. It was hard on Owen for me to be on the call but he let me talk. It thankfully started working at the same time we had to leave for one of Owen’s therapy sessions. He’s been back to pulling my hair and pinching me, saying “we don’t pinch” when he does it. Today, I accidentally said he bites me instead of pinches me. Later when we got home he didn’t bite down hard on my arm but he said, “bite you.” I am hoping I didn’t get that idea started again. He is back to having meltdowns over seeing bananas. He took my bananas and threw them in the trash. I’m hoping this isn’t something he is recycling back through. Bananas are something we worked really hard to get past. It was years in the making and now we are back to him upset again. He wanted fish for dinner. I do believe we both still have fish in our hair now. “Hey Owen in Arabic,” he belted out to his tablet and then laughed hysterically. I love to hear his laugh. Bedtime came quickly and it was a mix between one emotion after another. He wouldn’t stop repeating about riding the bus. I know it is a great concern for him and he is truly ready for school to start. The rollercoaster of emotions was all over the map. Between the internet, meltdowns, and fish hair we ran the gamut of emotions. I’m thankful for his laughter and smiles that were sprinkled all throughout the day when he wasn’t upset. I need to hear his laugh. Today was my brother’s birthday and he’s been gone for almost two years. I tried to think about how many lives he touched and all that he did for me including making me laugh. The laughter is what I needed today and Owen put the smile on my face. Our life is not always easy to explain but the love sure is. Live in the knowledge that you can accomplish great things with a smile and a good heart. Smiles to all and donut daze!
