Outside The Box!! What Box???

We often joke that OLA thinks so far outside the box that we aren't sure he even knows there is a box. Here's a little humor for all those living with people who think way outside the box.

FORREST GUMP GOES TO HEAVEN

  The day finally arrived.   Forrest Gump dies and goes to Heaven..

He is at the Pearly Gates, met by St. Peter himself.  

However, the gates are closed,

And Forrest approaches the gatekeeper.


St. Peter said, 'Well, Forrest,

It is certainly good to see you.    We have heard a lot about you.  

I must   tell you, though, that the place is filling up fast, 

And we have been administering 

An entrance examination for everyone.  

The test is short, but you have to

Pass it before you can get into Heaven.'


Forrest responds, 'It sure is good to be here, St. Peter, sir.   

But nobody ever told me about any entrance

Exam.  I sure hope that the test ain't too hard.

Life was a big enough test

As it was.'


St. Peter continued, 'Yes, I

Know, Forrest, but the test is only three questions.


 

First:

What two days of the week

Begin with the letter T?


 

Second:

How many seconds are there in a year?


 

Third:

What is God's first name?'


Forrest leaves to think the questions over.  

He returns the next day and sees St. Peter, who waves him up, and

Says, 'Now that you have had a chance to think the questions over,

Tell me your answers.'


Forrest replied, 'Well, the

First one -- which two days in the week begins with the letter 'T'?

Shucks, that one is easy.   That would be Today and Tomorrow.'


The Saint's eyes opened wide and

He exclaimed, 'Forrest, that is not what I was thinking, but you do

Have a point, and I guess I did not specify, so I will give you credit

For that answer.   How about the next one?' asked St. Peter.


'How many seconds in a year?

Now that one is harder,' replied Forrest, 'but I thunk and thunk about

That, and I guess the only answer can be twelve.'


Astounded, St. Peter said, 'Twelve?

Twelve?  Forrest, how in Heaven's name could you come up with twelve seconds

In a year?'


Forrest replied, 'Shucks, there's

Got to be twelve: January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd... '


'Hold it,' interrupts St. Peter.

   'I see where you are going with this, and I see your point, 

Though that was not quite what I had in mind....but I will have to give

You credit for that one, too.  

Let us go on with the third and final question.

Can you tell me God's first name'?


'Sure,' Forrest replied,

'it's Andy.'


'Andy?' exclaimed an exasperated

And frustrated St Peter.


'Ok, I can understand how you

Came up with your answers to my first two questions,  

But just how in the

World did you come up with the name Andy as the first name of God?'


'Shucks, that was the easiest

One of all,' Forrest replied.  'I learnt it from the song,

ANDY WALKS WITH ME,

ANDY TALKS WITH ME,

ANDY TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN.'


St. Peter opened the Pearly Gates,

And said: 'Run, Forrest, run.'

The Whole World

Honestly, there are some days when I feel like we are no longer in a pond, we aren't even in a large lake, but rather in a huge ocean - when the waves hit. But, the past few weeks it hasn't been OLA that has caused the largest waves that we are swimming against - it is everybody else. This would be rough enough if the waves stopped with the medical profession, or the mental health field, or the school district. But when you occasionally throw in fellow church members, friends, acquaintances, and family members (especially family members) the waves become giant tsunami's to try and keep your head above. It seems like we are constantly having to justify a decision as to what we feel might be right for OLA and our little family to the entire world. People asking are you sure about that, have you thought about this, what if this happens. It especially is hard when at times people have said "you shouldn't always live your life on the "what ifs". How contradictory is that. I wish people would make an effort to really learn about FASD and it's resulting disabilities. Then make just two assumptions about us - one, my spouse and I are reasonably intelligent human beings, and - two just maybe we have considered the "what ifs" of the decision. Maybe instead we could use a little support in those decisions and not all the second guessing. So today I am swimming against the rising wave of the tsunami with no feeling of an effective life jacket!!! It's a long way to swim to shore without drowning!!!

School and other Nonsense!!

We are now nearly four weeks into the school year and the roller coaster ride is starting. One day OLA is in a rush to get to school and the next he is absolutely refusing to go. Tuesday was one of those days where he was refusing to go. After getting dressed and having breakfast he went into the Living Room, laid down on the sofa, and promptly announced that he was not going to school. Then the list of reasons followed, I'm too tired, my head hurts, I'm going to cough too much, I have to sit and do this work, I can't get a drink, I'll get too hungry, we can't have food in the classroom, I can't wipe my nose, I'm not allowed to open my desk, and on and on. For every solution I gave came another reason not to go. (I should know by now that once he starts to cycle there is absolutely no reasoning with him - I guess I'm a slow learner.). I finally convinced him to go out to the car where I was able to get him into the van and drive over to the school. Another ten minute battle ensued before I could get into a position to catch someones attention and get him into the school. It is now 9:00 a.m - school starts at 8:20- forty minutes late - this the second time in less than a week - we had a similar battle the previous Thursday. I now have the principle's cell phone number to use once I get him to the school drop off area. That's great but no-one is giving me any suggestions on how to get him into the van. He's over ninety pounds and when he sits down on the floor and refuses to go - what's a body to do- keep in mind that he is also irrational in his thinking. When it came time to pick him up he wasn't outside. I went in to his classroom. He and the teacher where having a "talk" about his tardiness. As we left she told him "now no more of this nonsense". I didn't say a word. But in the back of my mind I'm thinking "hope that works for YA!!!" (Little sarcasm in the tone). Now fast forward to Wednesday - he up, dressed, had breakfast, done homework, and in the van, all while repeatedly asking me if he's late yet. Guess what? - he's the teacher's special helper for the day - so he has to be on time with homework done. Well battle averted for Wednesday. Thursday - minor resistance - two minutes late. Today heavier resistance 15 minutes late. Anyone care to guess where this is heading?? (We might catch a break on Monday, because of the weekend.) I'm thinking we are cycling once again. But remember - "NO MORE OF THIS NONSENSE!!!!" "HOW'S THAT WORKING FOR YA!!!!" (Lot's of Sarcasm added). Riding this one out to see where we drift ashore.

In Honor of Awareness, Friendship, and Understanding!!!

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell.
He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the
post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.

"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

"I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"

"Sure," said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. "Here, Dolly!" he called.

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse.

Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up...

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt. The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said,
"Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his
trousers.

In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands."

With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup.



Holding it carefully he handed it to the little boy.

"How much?" asked the little boy... "No charge," answered the farmer, "There's no charge for love."

The world is full of people who need someone who understands.

Reflections on Loneliness

Tonight as I was laying with OLA while he fell asleep I found myself reflecting on how lonely some battles can seem. I'm am currently the president of our women's service organization at church. Last night I was in a meeting with a couple of other women - we were discussing the various needs of families in the congregation and what we could do to help. It is awesome to have the opportunity to help others - but at the same time it brought a real pang of loneliness to me. I wish I had even one person in whom I could confided the depth of the pain and loneliness this battle we are fighting can bring. I do not have a single person with which I can share those feelings. It is a very, very lonely place to be. Sometime I wish I had a truly non-judgemental shoulder to cry on. But, alas, at this point in time it is not to be. So for now I will continue to swim alone and hope in doing so I don't drown. I wish someone truly understood OLA, our family, and my soul.

FASD AWARENESS

Although this is posted on my sidebar it is worth another look. Alcohol affects children from every walk of life - every color, every economic statis, every religion. It does not matter who you are - if you drink while you are pregnant your baby can have life long struggles.

FASD Awareness

September 9th is National FASD Awareness Day. Here is one video about a mother who's son was diagnosed with an FASD.

Beginning Second Grade

We have officially survived the first week of second grade!!! Hallelujah!!! But it was rough!!!  I started the the year off with a meeting of staff members relevant to OLA's second grade experience. Our OT also came with me. I needed to explain our concerns about the up-tic in some of his behaviors over the summer. The OT came to explain some the things we are doing to help with his SPD issues. We wanted some help in implementing them to lessen some behaviors. We got a reluctant yes for the "fidgets" in class. A semi yes with the "chewys" (they are in the nurse's office - IF HE NEEDS THEM. Like any second grader is going to ask his teacher if he can go to the nurse to get his pencil chewy - YEP, I see that happening - NOT!!!!! The principal had concerns about him swallowing it!!! :-(   Mean while his pencil's are probably all missing their erasers and have chew marks on them, because that is a better option.) And we got  all out resistance on the music therapy because it might make him look and feel different from the other kids - because we are now all a bunch of clones and there are no other children in the class that are different - what happened to the celebration of differences??!  So it is shaping up to be a great year. And we wont even talk about the homework battle that has already begun!  Wednesday of last week was the first official day of school for the kids. It was only a half day. On one hand it was great, because OLA could ease into the new schedule. On the other hand it made the rest of the week harder because we lacked a consistent routine. Friday night ended with a major meltdown and Saturday was even worse. He cycled all day long. fun for us!! Not so much!!! Now we are in to the second week - it should be interesting to see how the weekend goes?! Especially since today is another early out because of excessive heat!! Life is just one roller coaster ride after another!!! I guess I'll sit back and enjoy the ride!!! If only I didn't hate roller coasters so much!!!:)