Holiday article from the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, and a Max update

  As usual, Max is looking forward to Christmas this year.  Hopefully MyGuy and i can  prep ourselves mentally to put up our living room tree - tt means so much to Max, but the most initiative he'll take in getting it up is to wish us "Merry Christmas" out of the blue.

  However, he has two small trees up in his room.  One is a new, 4' prelit one, which he is enjoying.

  It seems in a sense especially important to keep this tradition in this year of universally lowered expectations.

The IRCA has prepared their usual article

of tips to help us help our children on the spectrum cope with the upcoming holidays.  https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca/articles/making-the-most-of-the-holidays-for-your-family-and-your-son-daughter.html

  Here's a short quote listing some items to be sure to mention:

Where and How Christmas Dinner Will Occur

Who Will Be Present at Christmas this Year

How Family Will Meet Virtually This Year

Where the Family May or May Not Be Going This Year: In other words, what family traditions cannot happen.

If Others Come Over, Rules about Wearing Masks, and Other Safety Precautions.  


 

At the end of the article are links to specific tips,  including social stories about home and visiting, and a fill=in calendar.

"Wordless" Wednesday: Sign of the Times?

Honey Sweetie

  Now that i'm "a certain age," walking with a cane, suddenly everyone seems to want to call me "honey" or "sweetie."
  It's hard to not resent this.
  Those are terms of AFFECTION, for friends & family whom you love.
  These people calling me this are strangers, usually in a service position.
  You think i'm a sweet little old lady?  Maybe someday.  Just because i don't want to bother with hair color and have bad knees doesn't mean you can take liberties with me.
  When i was a sexy young thing, men i didn't know would do this.  That was kinda creepy, though they seemed respectful enough in other ways.  i hope this doesn't happen so much in today's climate.
  Maybe it's a way of trying to be friendly to someone perceived as weaker.  Max gets this a lot too, and it makes him hopping mad.
  So if you want to address a stranger this way, JUST DON'T.

Check out this fellow blogger

As i type this, the post i reference is showing in the blogroll at right, but i know it won't stay there.
https://gettingitright-occasionally.blogspot.com/
While our family is not at Gloria's point yet, i can see it coming..  And even now i identify with her emotions.

Story from an Old Song

i wrote this last summer; i don't think i posted it then?
Anyone recognize my inspiration?


I was on my way out to gather eggs when i saw them.  Two

Wordless Wednesday: Merry Christmas Scrapbook

Now all is said & done. . . .

  Yeah right.  Anyway, the election is over.
  It's been weird in lots of ways.  Congratualations to the hard work of volunteers to get people to the polls.  Which led to another weirdness:  as i was struggling to get ready & out the door, a volunteer called me to remind me to vote.
  Seems like most everyone i voted for lost.  Not surprising, considering my fondness for 3rd parties, and things in general.
  i was mainly sad that the candidate whom i perceived as slinging the most mud - first - won his race.
  But i've never really had a major candidate i supported win.  There were lots whom i thought would, in office, be the ruin of us all.  And everyone was better than i expected.
  May it be so this time also.

Predictions, Pirates, and Politics

Some things become true just because people believe they are.

rearranging plans

 

Next week will be weird. 

Saturday Sisters: Miriam

Humility

Awareness Month: Light it Up Blue

 from my inbox again:
April is Light It Up Blue for Autism month.
Here

Saturday Sisters: Hannah, God-Focused

   Things were not right in Hannah's home, or in her larger world.

Saturday Sisters: Abigail

Wisdom

Wordless Wednesday: Salerno to Rome, from my Dad's Collection

 

 In yesterday's post,

A Saturday Sister, part 2: Ruth

   The story of Ruth is one of the most beautiful in the Bible, but i never

Stories: Real-Life and Allegorical

A stirring rescue account and a facebook giveaway. . . .

We Still Visit Each Other

  After most of the past year having an unavailable yard, Puppers has become mostly an outside dog.

Progress in Fitting In: An Easter Seals Survey

  In yesterday's inbox i received this survey from Easter Seals, about progress in accessibility over the years.
  It's very enlightening.  

 

Wordless Wednesday: Brothers

How's your marriage?

Relationship talk is not always fun, but it's something that we need to do occasionally.
Even good marriages can be better, if we identify where it's not perfect.  And the ones that aren't so good, well, you need to do this even more, probably in direct proportion to how hard it is.
Our kids need us together.  This is worth the work.
Here is one of the shortest such quizzes we've ever taken.  i think it might be helpful to write down answers as well as clicking, so that we can share our answers as well as our scores.
http://familydynamics.net/marriage-quiz#
https://marriagedynamics.com/marriage-quiz/
1/1/20 Today i noticed this post had some hits, so i took the opportunity to remind myself what i'd written.  And discovered the link no longer works. 
 As of today at least, the second one works.  If the time should come when it no longer does, i found the new one by entering "marriage quiz" in their searchbox. You should be able to find Marriage Dynamics by googling for Marriage Dynamics, or, more simply, selecting either address above as far as the .com