Autism Awareness Month Day 27

Firstly I would like to say Happy Birthday to a special person who was one of the people who encouraged me to start writing these blogs and take them to the level they are at now. If you are reading this, you know who you are! Thank you for your encouragement. I hope you had a great day! We all need certain people in our lives for different reasons and I’m thankful to God for sending such people to help me.

It’s midweek already wow this week is flying! I’m not sad about that though because I’m exhausted. I was up early as usual and we all got ready for work and school. MrJK asked the children what they wanted for dinner as I have been a bit slack with the menu planning recently. They both agreed on something yummy which was good so I looked forward to dinner too.
Due to the netball tournament Nae-Nae didn’t receive one of letters that went home yesterday. Thank goodness for parent mail and a working coloured printer. I predicted that she would not be happy if her other friends returned the permission slip and she didn’t so to save an uproar at school I printed the letter off and just pretended I was given the letter instead. This girl doesn’t like missing out on anything and she was already concerned that she missed some important learning while playing netball. Some children will be happy to get out of learning but not this girl.
Once I signed the slip I put the remaining part of the letter on the pin board but as I did that the board dropped off the wall. I was quite nervous lol and JJ was standing the corridor watching me. I told him “Daddy is going to kill me.” Which meant his dad would not be pleased that I had messed something up in the house. Trust me living with someone with OCD even though its a MrsJK diagnosis,  can be stressful at times. JJ kept watch as I tried to fix it. He opened his big mouth and asked “Mum are you managing ok?” I looked at him like son be quiet. At that point MrJK asked JJ what I was doing. JJ looked over at me not knowing what to say and at that precise moment I fixed the board, so JJ looked relieved and said to his dad “Oh nothing. She was doing nothing.”
I feel bad for JJ sometimes because he doesn’t lie well (which is good) and I don’t want him to lie for me but he is his mum’s bodyguard so he won’t get me into trouble either. We all know how MrJK is and his high expectations so we all work hard to meet them and I won’t lie I’m scared when I break something lol. It’s just because of the cussing I would receive. I like a quiet life. Although it would probably be down to me to fix it again but best not to disrupt the flow of things.

I managed to position the board at the exact angle so no one will notice it had dropped down. However, I put money on it that MrJK or Nae-Nae will notice that it’s been touched because it is out by the smallest fraction ever. The fraction that no one else in the world can see but they can. Nae-Nae goes round the house putting things back into place although I never notice that they are out of place at all. There’s a waste paper bin at the entrance of her bedroom door and everyday without fail Nae-Nae will walk passed it on the way to the bathroom and move it into place with her foot. It probably moves a couple of centimetres from its position just because people walk passed it and the house moves. However Nae-Nae will notice it and she has to put it back. I never see what she sees but when she kicks it into place I realise that it has to touch the chest of drawers slightly otherwise it’s wrong… I know what a life!
I dropped JJ to school, had my early morning eye brow wax appointment and then off to my first visit. I was on the road pretty much all day trying to get from one side of the world to the other. It was a bit hard saying good bye to the last client of the day in particular because I would have liked to have supported them to do that one last thing they needed but hey that’s another service’s job now and I had help get them to a position whereby the last thing is inevitable now, its just a matter of time. Everyone was so grateful and gave me lovely compliments. I tried not to cry and I succeeded.
I finished work for a little bit at 4pm (to be continued) as it was a day for a club that I run for children under 9 who may encounter physical, social, emotional and communication barriers. We have a range of children with varied needs and disabilities. We explore with them through music and dance and a touch of drama sometimes. I must say its a really rewarding thing to do, watching the children express themselves freely and take lead of the activities most of the time. It’s just beautiful to watch and be a part of. Their parents/carers get to have an hour together talking in a room which is a bit like respite for them too. I feel so blessed to be able to be the vessel that is used for these families.
I was a little exhausted after that but JJ (who is a youth volunteer) and I went back home to eat and then homework for him and more work for me. On the way home though JJ mentioned something about school. There was something he was just not happy about as he felt it’s having an impact on his self esteem. I was like wow! He identified a particular thing and told me what needs to happen for things to be better for him. I was so proud of him even though he was a bit tearful when he told me. He knows what needed to change but I think he knew by telling me I will liaise with the appropriate person on his behalf and he wasn’t wrong! Anything to do with my children, I’m on it like sonic! My heart races and my fingers feel like they are swelling up. I went for my phone and in no time like the present I fired off an email explaining how JJ feels and what he would like to see happen. I have a meeting regarding his annual review next week and I could have waited and discussed it then but no my heart was beating to fast so I just needed to release it onto an email. There was no one at school at the time otherwise I would have phoned instead, however I do prefer writing for things like that as there is a paper trail.
JJ has an amazing concept of his condition and his needs. He can identify what is needed for his own success and can see the blockages for himself and suggest ways to move them. It’s taken me several decades to work that out for myself so to see a 14 year old have a handle on things like he does is amazing. The only thing is, he won’t say what’s in his head to others all the time. He will reflect on it for a while hoping they would also click and make the changes. He will be patient for that as he hopes the adult will have the insight into what is required and he wants to give them the chance to notice things and make changes. If he sees its not happening then he will usually tell me. Sometimes I just wish he would tell those other adults straight away and not always hope they will figure it out. It will save a lot of time and stress. He isn’t quite there yet but I think he just needs a bit more confidence to challenge things that don’t work for him immediately with the person concerned. Its working progress though/
When I finished the email I told him it was done. He looked at me and said “That was quick.” I replied “You are my boy I have to react straight away.” He asked me whether I read over it before I sent it and checked for spelling mistake lol. He felt that in the speed of my typing I may have made some errors. I love that boy but he doesn’t fully get me yet. I never send an email without checking it a million times. I have to read it to see if anything would be misinterpreted or not. I’m not in the business of offending people or making myself look stupid either. I feel I have managed to master certain things in my writing now, well hopefully.

After that I went back to my work laptop and continued working until 8.45pm while the children were finishing their homework and playing. They occupied themselves well so I could get on as MrJK wasn’t in at that point. I know it sounds crazy working that late and perhaps I shouldn’t have but that’s just me. I want to leave my work in a place that I am satisfied. I only want my name to be called for nice reasons once I have departed. We never know when we will cross paths with people again. I knew I can’t do everything I wanted to do. If I had time there would be certain things I would have implemented but I know I can’t do it all but what I did want to do is complete the tasks I had started. I will be satisfied if I can achieve that by 5pm Friday!
I went to bed absolutely shattered though but it was all worth it in my view.

Peace and Love

MrsJK