Playing Catch-Up

Back to the story....

Late summer of 2006 there was an article in our local paper about Asperger's that was very poorly done. So of course I wrote them and told them how bad it was and we were quickly asked if our family would be willing to have a reporter & photographer follow us for a month. What an experience that was. One of the best things they recorded was our experience at orientation for middle school. They had no idea that 'A' had any special needs, the guidance counselor even asked if we were at the right school! The elementary had not passed any of his information along and they were clueless. That entire school year was a battle, explaining to the special ed teacher that the novel she read about Autism wasn't as useful as she thought, having one of his teachers trigger a coughing spell that has taken 2 years to stop. Not a year I enjoyed.... but I did gain my Crazy Mom logo because of it! So there is a silver lining.

So now we fast forward 2.5 years to the present. 'A' is now in 7th grade, the middle of middle school, and much more socially aware than he's ever been. I see this as great progress for him, wanting his hair to look good to impress the pretty blond in his class is a new experience. At the same time he's also more aware of what they other kids are saying behind his back and sometimes to his face.

This school year alone he's had death threats left in his PE locker and "Smile, you're special" notes left in his regular locker. He's been attacked 4 times in a week at lunch, had his things stolen, his Science teacher was forced to leave the school after allegations arose, and decided that as long as he's not getting an 'F' his grades are fine. But over the last year or so he's been happier, less anxious, and not as prone to break downs as before.

He's also very notably going through puberty. He's grown 6 inches in 18 months, his voice has gotten a bit deeper, and we've had to renegotiate bathing terms more than once. But, as with other inhibitions and maturity, some levels have not kept up. It's nearly impossible to keep him from dancing naked in the hall between his room and the bath room at shower time. Instead we've gotten better at making sure no one else is in the hall way.

The school is still very limited in their understanding of him. Not once have they followed his IEP by transferring information to the new teachers he has each semester. His principal won't look me in the eye now and his guidance counselor is so panicked she's going to do something wrong that she's never done a thing. 'A' has his favorite speech therapist back this year though, and I'm sure that many of his improvements are thanks to her.

It stuns me sometimes when I look back over the last 14 years and see all that our family has done, been through, survived, and accomplished. I just hope the next 14 years are a little calmer!

It's Gone

The last 10 days was pretty harsh. My oldest turned 13! I can't believe I have a teenager! To make things worse, I was crazy enough to measure him.... 5'7"! Only 2 inches shorter than me. I'm certain he'll outgrow me by Christmas. My only wish is that he would mature as fast as he's growing. It's so hard to watch my tall gangly son act like a sugar wired 8 year old.

The second difficult thing was that I found out Tuesday that the company hosting my domain sold it to someone else. My website, my name, is gone. Five hard years of work to make it just what I wanted, making it profitable, spreading my name on the web, all of it is worthless. My domain name was my business name. All my business cards are null and void, the stickers on the windows of my van... are all advertising for someone else now. Chelbi's Creations is no longer mine.
So in the spirit of change I have started over. Streamlined, simplified, clarified. I have begun again with Chel Design. Talking with the hubby though, there is a very real chance I will be switching this all out again in the next month or so. We have been throwing around a business name practically since we were married, but never could make it fit anything. I think we've finally come to a place where our two creative talents have almost merged. Mine being the creative design of interiors, clothing, & logos and his being the creative design of portfolios, graphic flyers, & advertisements. We'll see where this next adventure leads.