Love the Adventure

 We celebrated our five-year wedding anniversary this month. We took our little adventurous 3-year old to the Pocono Mountains. We had the best time. It was truly one of the best vacations of my life. And yes, we were lucky enough to have amazing weather. And yes, we were lucky enough to have a wonderful place to stay. These things alone would have made it a wonderful and memorable trip. But we had the added bonus of having every experience heightened knowing that we were living out a dream. How often can you say that? The day Sofie was diagnosed with ASD I couldn't see trips like this-they were for other families. And no it wasn't the label that made me feel this way. I knew my little girl's struggles and it made the dream of a happy spontaneous vacation, just that- a dream. We have gone on vacations since the diagnosis and they have been amazing. But this trip to the Poconos came with some potential roadblocks that not so long ago seemed like giant brick walls. Some of those roadblocks were the long car ride, the fluidity of our plans each day, keeping her safe holding our hand (easy to forget she used to hate that), giving her freedom to run (didn't always 'get' "stop"), being out somewhere that is a completely new sensory palette to explore (again, easy to forget EVERYTHING used to go in her mouth).  I'm not saying any of the potentially dangerous lines that are thrown around the blogosphere regarding Autism that would suggest everything is easy or she is pretty much a typcially developing kid thanks to therapy and diet changes. She is not. A fact I am reminded of anytime I meet a "typically developing kid" her age. What I am saying is that she is a thriving child with Autism. The steps we have taken since beginning our ASD journey have been exhaustive and not all of them proved fruitful. Every kid is different. I think of the time I spent trying out OT brushing, or our time with fish oil and liquid B12-it doesn't always work but you try what is feasible and safe. Going back to our trip, it was truly a celebration of all those steps and the steps my husband and I have taken since the diagnosis. I thought I loved him before we got married but the depth of love you feel when you know that you have a teammate that is right there with you and has the same vision for your family-it brings that love to a whole other level. And I guess that is what this rambling blog is all about. This crazy journey we are on has made us feel everything on another level. Of course we get bogged down by the trivial from time to time but we smile every time Sofie runs to get something we asked her to. We tear up sometimes when she constructs a simple sentence. We fight back happy tears when she puts her arms around us for a picture (pictured below, a first!). And she has given us the gift of keeping the volume down, so to speak. When we were at Bushkill Waterfall we heard quite a few parents getting mad a their kids for messing up their shoes with their puddle jumping. We didn't see the big deal. So we told Sofie she could "gently" step in each puddle she saw. And she followed THOSE directions quite well. And this isn't a reflection on how amazing we are. This is a reflection on what our daughter has taught us. They are just shoes. Experiencing all "this" is more important than clean shoes. We were talking while we were walking in the woods by the Falls and my husband was telling a story and the phrase "why are we here?" was uttered. Sofie zeroed in on that question and babbled "wah we ear? be oppy!" Let me translate: "Why we here? Be happy." And THAT is what made this one of the best vacations of my life. We have an amazing teacher.

Kettle Creek Aviary Research Center