Not a good blogger, I have been... (my Yoda impression.. impressed?)
Work.. blah blah.. life...blah blah.. busy.. blah blah... You know the drill.... You have the drill....
A while back.
. I wrote "The Wheel is Broken," remember?? Of course you do.
It was about my niece Jay-Gee, who I had suspected for a long time, had autism. I had written it after spending a long hot day in the sunshine drinking, eating, swimming, and playing. We were sitting around the living room helping my 2 year old niece (Jay-Gee's little sister) open her birthday presents when reality came tumbling out. Too exhausted to keep up the facade of normalcy, we had no choice but to really see it. Jay-Gee's autism slapped us all in the face that night, hard.
Long story short...
Her parents finally have their diagnosis and have begun the process of accepting this new reality, or newly defined reality. I mean, she's still Jay-Gee, the most adorable little springy-haired girl who doles out kisses and loves to be with her cousins. Even though she has so much difficulty communicating with them and she veers off into her own world now and again, they don't care.. she's fun.. and they love her... more than love her.
I knew things were going to be okay when I got an email from Jay-Gee's mom inviting us to a walk for autism awareness this past weekend. It was her way of letting us know she had accepted things and was ready to get on with life. We didn't hesitate. We showed up in matching tee shirts and walked with love and pride in our hearts. (Who needs wheels when we have feet anyway?)
