More glimpses of our life
The weekend
DH and I have found a way to find time together for just us .
This is Saturday when R has therapy for 4 hours .
The first 2 hours we usually cook. The second two hours depending on where R's social skills class is - we take a walk or we go out to lunch .
This weekend is one of our first sunny weekends and dropping him off at the Sky zone ( which is giant set of trampolines ) DH head out for a gorgeous park.
See that line behind me
They are turtles
See this big turtle and little turtle make their way towards each other
I have heard that turtles are mean creatures and that turtle soup is delicious
But I do not think of those terrible things
And just imagine that the two turtles are mum and child , floortiming away
Sunday
Is also sunny .
Its so rare to have the sun in Seattle that you are in an agony because you want to make sure that you can quickly arrange your chores so you can be outside
I am in such a frenzy - scared that the sun will go - that I am almost wishing it was a rainy day
We walk ( when R's therapist is here )
The best part of today is when we get the hammock out
It feels like the end of something dark and gloomy (there is no doubt that last year has taken a heavy toll on us )
Monday - Friday
I usually try to write a little everyday .
But this week I did not and so it will all come out higgledy piggeldy
An Irish woman, a Chinese man
I meet an Irish woman in the park.
Such a delightful accent she has - I imagine what it would be like to met my friend Looking for Blue Sky or Jazzy Gal
To my shock I realize that I have been reading her blog in my voice - Indian/Bengali/Delhi/British.
This must be rectified
I tell her how much I love Maeve Binchy
( I wonder if Irish people this is like the Indian equivalent curry , in the South I always got some comment around curry sometimes even the inexplicable "no offense, I don't like curry" ... which of course always provokes me to think of wicked things to say like " well then what shall we talk about " .. )
She tells me how sad this is that she ( Maeve Binchy ) is dead
I immediately realize that perhaps she did not understand my accent
I immediately realize that she probably does not understand what I meant
But later I find that indeed she did understand and Maeve binchy is indeed dead at only 72 - how terrible
Accents are a real factor in conversations in this very cosmopolitan city
The other day a Chinese man and I got talking and we were talking about how his daughter has started to talk
As I said that R talked late as he is autistic - he beamed and said wonderful
Later I realized that he thought I was boasting about R being artistic
Play Therapy
I am too lazy to do real floortime
I just follow the lead in R's eccentric choices ( taking photos of road signs, making a chart of numbers, eating the same thing in the park everyday)
DH and I are trying hard on getting R to answer us
He is the master of ignoring a question
Motivation is powerful.
Q: how long does it take to teach R to take a photo with zoom
A: Just show him once
Q: how long does it take to answer a question about an inference " why are there branches on the ground"
A : Eternity!!! finally I give him the answer with gritten teeth " because there was a storm?"
Games
DH and I are trying to get him to play with us -
Nowadays he is blowing up his allowance at the Educational Store and different kinds of Bingo is really his thing
So we try to use this
But always this is like pulling teeth
Still we remind ourselves
That
1. He regularly plays with Miss Brittany
2. Its a whole different world than when we used to try and play when he was really little
For one thing he understands what we say ( this in itself is pretty impressive for us as words took so long to come )
New interests
Right now R's new interests are in photography
He takes selfies
Pics of the characters on the Wii
And sometimes he even takes pics of us
The weekend :The Hike Bike and Boat Sojourn
DH has signed us up for a VERY hectic weekend
We usually spend our weekend ensconced in sloth and here we are going to a day of endless activity
Oh but its so worth it
To see R being able to ride a bike effortlessly - just look at his face
To snuggle with R in the 100 year old forest
to watch the gorgeous river and mountains
But most of all I am just amazed by some mothers I meet here
With such admiration, I see a woman who has chosen to adapt an severely handicapped child
What is even better is that she has done such a fabulous job of teaching her sign language that the child is so beautifully engaged and so clearly happy
There is a lot of misery in this world - but thankfully there is also a lot of love
The weekend
DH and I have found a way to find time together for just us .
This is Saturday when R has therapy for 4 hours .
The first 2 hours we usually cook. The second two hours depending on where R's social skills class is - we take a walk or we go out to lunch .
This weekend is one of our first sunny weekends and dropping him off at the Sky zone ( which is giant set of trampolines ) DH head out for a gorgeous park.
See that line behind me
See this big turtle and little turtle make their way towards each other
I have heard that turtles are mean creatures and that turtle soup is delicious
But I do not think of those terrible things
And just imagine that the two turtles are mum and child , floortiming away
Is also sunny .
Its so rare to have the sun in Seattle that you are in an agony because you want to make sure that you can quickly arrange your chores so you can be outside
I am in such a frenzy - scared that the sun will go - that I am almost wishing it was a rainy day
We walk ( when R's therapist is here )
The best part of today is when we get the hammock out
It feels like the end of something dark and gloomy (there is no doubt that last year has taken a heavy toll on us )
I usually try to write a little everyday .
But this week I did not and so it will all come out higgledy piggeldy
An Irish woman, a Chinese man
I meet an Irish woman in the park.
Such a delightful accent she has - I imagine what it would be like to met my friend Looking for Blue Sky or Jazzy Gal
To my shock I realize that I have been reading her blog in my voice - Indian/Bengali/Delhi/British.
This must be rectified
I tell her how much I love Maeve Binchy
( I wonder if Irish people this is like the Indian equivalent curry , in the South I always got some comment around curry sometimes even the inexplicable "no offense, I don't like curry" ... which of course always provokes me to think of wicked things to say like " well then what shall we talk about " .. )
She tells me how sad this is that she ( Maeve Binchy ) is dead
I immediately realize that perhaps she did not understand my accent
I immediately realize that she probably does not understand what I meant
But later I find that indeed she did understand and Maeve binchy is indeed dead at only 72 - how terrible
Accents are a real factor in conversations in this very cosmopolitan city
The other day a Chinese man and I got talking and we were talking about how his daughter has started to talk
As I said that R talked late as he is autistic - he beamed and said wonderful
Later I realized that he thought I was boasting about R being artistic
Play Therapy
I am too lazy to do real floortime
I just follow the lead in R's eccentric choices ( taking photos of road signs, making a chart of numbers, eating the same thing in the park everyday)
DH and I are trying hard on getting R to answer us
He is the master of ignoring a question
Q: how long does it take to teach R to take a photo with zoom
A: Just show him once
Q: how long does it take to answer a question about an inference " why are there branches on the ground"
A : Eternity!!! finally I give him the answer with gritten teeth " because there was a storm?"
Games
DH and I are trying to get him to play with us -
Nowadays he is blowing up his allowance at the Educational Store and different kinds of Bingo is really his thing
So we try to use this
Still we remind ourselves
That
1. He regularly plays with Miss Brittany
2. Its a whole different world than when we used to try and play when he was really little
For one thing he understands what we say ( this in itself is pretty impressive for us as words took so long to come )
New interests
Right now R's new interests are in photography
He takes selfies
Pics of the characters on the Wii
And sometimes he even takes pics of us
The weekend :The Hike Bike and Boat Sojourn
DH has signed us up for a VERY hectic weekend
We usually spend our weekend ensconced in sloth and here we are going to a day of endless activity
Oh but its so worth it
To see R being able to ride a bike effortlessly - just look at his face
To snuggle with R in the 100 year old forest
With such admiration, I see a woman who has chosen to adapt an severely handicapped child
What is even better is that she has done such a fabulous job of teaching her sign language that the child is so beautifully engaged and so clearly happy
There is a lot of misery in this world - but thankfully there is also a lot of love
14 comments:
Such a wonderful catch up post! I love your photos: the hammock, the turtles...the CUTE turtles! And the photos of you, of course. great that R is riding his bike and into photography.
Thanks so mush for the mention :-) Maeve Binchy did die young, very sad, she was ill. She lived in Dalkey, Just 2 small towns away from me. her husband gave a small speech at a short play of hers that a pal of mine was in, last January in Dallkey.
Oh...and from watching Grey's Anatayomy I think that Irish weather is very similar to Seattle. An American friend of mine living in Ireland totally agrees with me!
xx Jazzy
Interesting that R is into photography now... maybe he really is "artistic." :)
Glad you and DH are able to have such quality time to yourselves, and found such a beautiful area to spend the time.
Thanks for another nice post!
Oh how I love your posts! I think it is great that you and DH have found time for yourselves. And that R has found an interest in photography. Love the hammock as well!!
lovely picures.
I cannot believe that turtles are mean creatures. Why would the need such a hard shell.
Loks like you are having a good time :)
Can I just say... the Irish accent is LOVELY and I can vouch for that because I have met both Blue Sky and Jazzy ("Hi, Jazzy".. waving!).
I also really enjoyed reading Maeve Binchy and was so sad when she passed away. Let us know if you would like the names of some other authors from Ireland.
Great to hear that you manage to get some special time with your hub's, so important in the grand scheme of things.
I love the beauty in the small things, oftentimes we forget there is beauty right in front of us. You always remind me of that, thank you.
I loved catching up! So many wonderful activities. :) Daniel has been loving wii characters and making some to look like characters from shows. :)
There is a lot of love in the world, thank goodness, and so important to remember. Love reading your catch ups, but you forgot to post up the photos that R took of you and DH?
And thank you so much for the mention, and it was lovely reading through the comments from my friends Jazzygal and The Bright Side of Life. Perhaps you will come to Dublin one day too :)
Love the special time you and DH have together. Even if it's cooking for the week or doing nothing, it's time devoted to each other and makes for a long healthy close relationship! R has a wonderful example and a hard act to follow when he becomes a man.
R is looking so big in these photos! Perhaps because Nigel just went to prom and I am noticing how all the kids are growing up. Lovely post, and I love Maeve Binchy too :)
I am so glad that you and your husband are getting to spend some time together just being..we too are getting to that stage and it is wonderful..
My husband has an accent-which is sexy and beautiful...I am hearing impaired...it has made for some very interesting conversations!!
I hope that you get some more sun soon..we have had a very very long winter here in Maine...I too am longing for sunshine..
Your boy has grown so much! I would love to see more of his photography...
I have never eaten turtle soup!
"DH and I are trying hard on getting R to answer us
He is the master of ignoring a question."
Good lord, that's my son. I mean, if he's in a perky happy mood - but not a hyper stimmy happy mood - I can get answers really fast & spontaneous. But man, there are times that I want to smack my head against something really hard. "Nathaniel, do you want breakfast? Do you want breakfast? Nathaniel? ..." AAAAHH!
;)
And he also will not do structured floor time with us. Our summer is approaching & today at his IEP, the people there suggested trying to implement the type of circle time activities, yada yada that they do, on a structured schedule.
HA!
You bet there is alot of love! Off late owing to big transitions in our lives, I manage to just about keep me updated with your world through your blog, its such a refreshing and hopeful read always. And I agree the pictures are lovely and you look gorgeous.
So glad you had some sun! Love the photos!
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