Epic Ride

Bell Center Road, Washougal, Washington

The seasons are changing.  Spring is turning into summer.  School is winding down and so are my son's therapy hours.  We are only driving to Portland, 3 hours a day, for 3 days a week now.  This gives me two days a week to take long drives with him to maintain some kind of consistency.  He calls them "Epic Rides."  This season of my life, too, is winding down.  The children are getting older and the need for more financial security means I will be returning to the 9 to 5 shortly.  Autism is expensive.  I've driven over 100,000 miles over the last 4 years to therapy.  Gone through 2 vehicles.  And this doesn't include the actual therapy itself.  It's a lot to bounce back from.  In the meantime, while I wait for the ability to take a job opportunity, I am enjoying every moment I can with my children.  Hug them a million times a day and tell them how much I love them.  Because I do.  The road of life is beautiful.   Today it was in Washougal, Washington.

Commuter and Communicator

Sunrise.  Waiting for my commute to begin.

Every day begins for my family at about 5am.  I have to get 2 children and myself ready and out the door, lunches packed, by 6:45a.  That is when my twice daily commute to my son's therapy in Oregon begins.  Sick of radio, I have recently begun listening to podcasts.  Some are funny, others thought provoking, but I heard one, the other day, interviewing this gentleman who wrote a book about his findings interviewing special needs parents.  I'd give you his name, and the title, but I feel it's getting enough press and I'm irritated enough with his comments on this podcast that I don't really feel like promoting it.  Basically, he equated his sexual orientation life struggles with that of special needs.  He also suggested that, "in a fleeting moment," he was ready to join the special needs parental ranks when his baby showed POSSIBLE signs of physical impairment.

I have no words.

First off, he, himself, could walk, talk, communicate.  Many special needs children can't do 1,2,3 or more of these items.   The struggles he describes are no more equivalent than every other person in the world's "struggle".  Secondly, it was profoundly naive to suggest that in that FLEETING moment he'd be proud to be in our special needs parenting club?  Really?  I'm glad he likes special needs parents, but he doesn't know what's involved.  I'm trying not to be over-sensitive but seeing as he's making money on the subject, I feel I can be critical.  Unless his child turned out to be special needs, then I take it all back.  But, it wasn't presented that way.   It was presented as gay struggles = special needs struggles, ergo, he knows what it's like.  Nope.  They are not equal.

All of us in this life have a different story.  None of us have the same struggles, the same health, the same issues.  Giving press and promoting such ridiculousness only underscores the blatent sensationalization that goes directly into aligning special interest groups.

Rant over because I have children I need to feed.