Do little hicky
A bonus, for "Kev" and his "Clan"
We embrace, spoon style as he’s rather twitchy. Tickly and prickly. He pecks the inside of my elbow like a machine gun. I reach out an arm to enclose another one because it appears that everyone is in a touchy feely kind of a mood. The infection proves contagious as the last one snuggles into the huddle. I am lucky to have exceptionally long arms, the kind that poke out two inches from every cuff ever designed. They giggle in a piggle, with far too many sucky and gurgley noises because we don’t need any words. They burst apart at the same immeasurable second as an invisible message passes between them. They hare off on tippy toes, blundering hither and thither with whoops of glee, so miserable are we. I glance down at my arm.
Damn!
How am I gong to explain that love bite?
5 comments:
Just tell anyone who inquires that it's a new form of affection - wear it like a badge of honor.
Lookit!! They all match! That is so cute!
Rjaye
You (all) make me smile!
Do you really think anyone will notice?
Thanks for the story!
WILL SHOWS A WAY THROUGH AUTISM
Revised Edition of Mother’s Memoir Rekindles the Potential for Hope
“I was beginning to take for granted the fact that we could move through a morning, an afternoon, perhaps even a whole day without a flip-out or a freak-out,” writes Kelly Harland, the mother of Will, a boy with autism. “Sometimes, in my indefatigable optimism, I get to a place where I really believe the whole nightmare is over. But something eventually comes up again, out of the blue, in a flash, an electrifying bolt.”
Seattle-based Harland, a teacher, singer, and writer, has masterfully captured these “flashes” in a compilation of evocative vignettes entitled A Will of His Own, Reflections on Parenting a Child with Autism [January 2008, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, $18.95, 978-1-84310-869-6].
Harland’s prose is vivid, her insight is razor sharp, and her story has merit for anyone who has ever experienced the utter vulnerabilities and joys, heartaches and little miracles which go along with raising a child not described as “typical.” Her chapters involve sometimes frustrating and heartrending depictions of life with a child who reacts fearfully to everyday events such as checking out at the grocery store. Yet, in the revised edition Harland adds glimpses of William in his teenage years that provide encouraging indications of hope, learning, and growth.
Harland writes, “Whatever has led us to this—years of speech therapy, hours upon hours of my own input based on instinct and a few educated guesses, his father’s incredible talent for showing him a way to walk through this world—William can see his dream, and it looks good. In fact, it looks perfect. And he’s telling me about it.”
Above all, it is the love for Will—for what he is, not for what he might have been—that shines through this book, and we get to know him as a charming, intriguing, and undeniably worthwhile human being. “Those with autism may have a very different way of looking at the world from the rest of us,” writes Jane Asher, President of the National Autistic Society, in the book’s foreword, “but if we can just step back occasionally and see life through the eyes of those like him, we might learn, not only something about their problems and what we can do to help, but also about ourselves.”
Kelly Harland is a Seattle vocalist, writer, and voice teacher. She is on the faculty of the music department at the Cornish College of the Arts. Her voice has been featured not only on radio and television, but also in backing vocals with Ray Charles and Etta James. She has written articles for the magazine Autism Advocate and contributed to the Cup of Comfort book series. She lives with her husband Chuck Deardorf, her mischievous cat Georgie, and her son William, who has autism.
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