Little girl's all grown up...

Last night Robyn competed in a beauty pageant.  I can admit, I am not a big fan of the concept and had been wondering why my smart, tom-boyish daughter would be interested. I think this is the first time, I had ever heard her ask to go dress shopping.  This was the child that less than six months didn't want to wear a dress being part of a bridal party.  So to say I was perplexed at this particular choice to be entered into a beauty pageant would be an understatement.

So upon arriving home last night, I asked her why?  She looked at me and said, 'to say I did it once.'

The whole theme of Touristic is about trying new things and finding ones path.  Her answer to me made total sense in that respect.  In the last six months she has taken her first solo international trip, played soccer on a team and entered a beauty pageant among other things.  She is consistently showing an ability to grow and a willingness to go out of her comfort zone in the search for new experiences.  In that, I could not be more proud as a parent. She is indeed my princess - one that will grow up to be queen of her own domain.

Wayne.

Of Food + Wine

Yesterday I conducted a talk in front of about 150 friends of the BB&T Charleston Food + Wine Festival entitled,The Evolution of the Event.  It was a lot of fun and you can read about it in the Post and Courier here.

Thanks to all of my students who worked on this project in the past, Melinda, Emily, Sharon, Amanda, Pat, Jeremy, Katharine, Jennifer, Elina, Marin, Elaine & Lindsey.  Also, thanks to Bing Pan, Kevin Smith & Frank Hefner.

Wayne.

Of Notes:

Just some quick thoughts:

1. I always thought it was weird that I teach a wedding planning course but then I see their final projects where they are balancing art, budget & logistics and I think, you know what; this is cool!  The wedding plans they develop for our 'clients' really are marketing plans with a different context.  
2. Don't you just hate when you get your days mixed up?  I had a presentation on my calendar for today, when it is actually tomorrow.  I guess that is better than the opposite.
3. On being crabby.  We all have our crabby moments but it is nice when your other half realizes you are perhaps even crabbier than her and gives way.  It was very nice (and appreciated).

Wayne.

Ir's 2:00 AM Again...

This time he decided that this was a good time to wake up.  I have often thought about how much patience it requires to be a parent.  The need to remember to take a step back and breathe (or in my case a yawn).

I do love being a parent but a one week vacation from it would be worth how much to me?  Well, at least I get to go to work in five hours.

Disjointedly yours,

Wayne.

The Rapture, Armageddon and Parenthood

It is almost 2:00 AM as I write this.  As the slightly askew prediction of the rapture not coming to realization yesterday, I am finding myself kind of wishing it did happen.  As regular readers know Heather and I have three kids, a 13 year old, a four year old and a six month old.  For some undetermined reason both boys who are not much of nappers decided yesterday was a good day to take three or so hour naps in the afternoon and into the evening.  As a result of this, I knew I was going to be in trouble (bedtime was not going to happen at its regular time) but not quite this much.

The six month old fought a hard and well volumed battle using a variety of screeches, temper tantrums techniques that I had not previously known he had in his repertoire.  It took several techniques but around mid-night I prevailed.  The four year old however; he went to ‘bed’ at 9:00 PM and is singing still now at 2:00 AM.  He was good and ‘stayed’ in bed but is not asleep.  Due to his autism, we really cannot go to bed until he does.  He is just constantly singing the same song over and over and over.  It is a battle of attrition his ability to be annoying versus my patience level.  Sadly, as I am exhausted, he is winning so I have retreated to write this post.  Perhaps I can regain the high ground.

I love my boy but he knows what buttons to push in order to get my patience to wane.  I know that getting angry and upset with him really just makes it harder to accomplish my task (getting him to sleep) as I am not thinking properly.  Further, I was just begging and pleading and like with my old college dates, that didn’t work with them either.  I realize I am just looking pathetic. 

I got an idea…hold on!

We have a winner!  By technical knockout in the twentieth minute of the 2:00 AM hour – the winner of the match and half decent parent of the world!  Me!  My knockout punch, I have a presentation to do for the BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival on Tuesday morning.  I started to read my speech to him like a story and out cold he went!  Now, does that say something about my talk?  Ah darn!  I now have my mind on this thing.  Good-bye sleep…

That Time of Year

As a university professor this time of year is bitter sweet for me.  On one hand, I love to see my soon to be former students graduate and move on with their lives and on the other, I miss them so when they leave.  The special thing about being a professor is that I often get to see students transition from being kids to adults.  The other day, we had our annual party for our graduates.  One of our great traditions as a department is that we all stand up and give a piece of advice to our soon to be graduates.  This year I told the story of when Robyn first came to live with us and our trials and tribulations as a result.  I now remember why I do not recount that story very often as I teared up pretty quickly but the story lead to the advice that no matter how tough life is, to surround yourself with love will always lead to great rewards.  So for all of the graduates out there, remember to: 1) surround yourself with good people;  2) to be open to helping others and well as letting them help you; and 3) to remember that happiness is not in a dollar figure but by loving and being loved.  No one writes that he worked overtime and no one writes that you made millions of dollars on your gravestone.  On your gravestone people write that you are loving parent, a good friend and community pillar.  So on this Easter Sunday, I make the same wish to you all that I made to my students last week.  May you all live happy and fulfilling lives!

Autism Awareness Month

I wrote this for Heather’s Autism Awareness month on her blog www.actingbalanced.com but I thought I would post it in its entirety here (she is going to split it into parts for her blog).  In this post, I look back to what I wrote two years ago just after my son's autism diagnosis and again at the one-year mark.  I have then added my thoughts today.  I hope you enjoy reading about the journey.

Just after we found out Liam’s diagnosis (two (2) years ago), I wrote the following;

Just before Christmas I found out my son (just over 2 years old) has autism.  Ever since then I have been having a problem with coping.

1.       I know that this changes nothing about my boy.  I love him dearly and think the world of him.  It does not change the smiles, the hugs or even the cries.

2.       I know this is a positive in that now he has access to special services that will help him.

3.       I know that since it was caught young the interventions are likely to have a great effect on him too.

4.       I also know this makes my wife's life a little easier in now show knows what is going on and can deal with it (she is a stay-at-home mom).

My wife has been handling this so much better than I.  She has been reading books, talking to others and is working hard to connect him to all the agencies which will help him as well as starting to work with him.

I on the other hand, cannot bring myself to read about it or really talk about it.  Logically, I know that more knowledge would be helpful but I have a total block on it.  The real issue is that I think about how nothing in life is going to be easy for him and it makes me sad.  I am having a hard time reconciling myself with the issue as a result.  I love my boy and want to do what is right for him.  I have been told several times to just keep doing what I am doing.  That I am doing the right things.  I guess it is the powerlessness that I am feeling that really hurts.  I just wish I could wave my magic wand and make things all better (like a kiss to the boo boo) but I know that is not going to happen. 

A year later, I then wrote…

It has been a year since I first wrote about my son and his autism diagnosis. It has been a challenging but rewarding year. First, my son is now 3.5 years and is a very happy child. In the past year he has gone through a lot: 1) he started with four days of therapy a week; 2) he has since progressed to going to a half-day school program here; and 3) has adopted the gluten free diet (which has seemed to help). With all this he is still only using an occasional word - but is progressing in all of his other targets quite well. In particular his social skills have improved greatly along with his small and gross motor skills.

Some observations I have had in the year of having a child diagnosed with autism: I am surprised at how much energy he takes up. We are constantly working with him and trying to get him to do things and it is quite tiring (I cannot imagine the pain potty training is going to be). Add to that the stress of the tenure track and life has been quite interesting on that front. We still have an 11 year old as well and raising her is nothing like raising him - two very different stories to tell there. It seems that our previous parenting experience means absolutely nothing and everyday learning with him has been a real challenge. I am amazed at how many people say, 'he doesn't look different' to us when they are told he has autism. He is a very good kid but when his frustration level rises and he starts to 'head bang' or if he doesn't talk to the store lady or he doesn't like people touching him - it is amazing how many people perceive him to be a 'bad' kid or us to be 'bad' parents. There is a large misunderstanding of what autism is and what it is all about in our community. The expense of having a child with autism is tremendous. Even with a good health plan, we figure it cost us over $10,000 this year out of pocket and that is not including his gluten free diet. It is a strain on a family (we have had to give up cable, my wife has become a 'coupon queen' and no vacations this year) but it has pulled us closer together in many ways.

In total, having my son has been the best thing for me. My life really does have a new meaning. I used to think publishing five (5) articles a year was an accomplishment but now having my son play 'Connect Four' or sing 'Old McDonald' with me is now what I aim for. I have come to terms with my trading potential 'guru' status in my field to being better 'daddy' status in my home (and that was surprising hard to do upon reflection). I still often become sad seeing the struggles that he constantly encounters but happy and heartened that he takes them on with a determination and rigor.  I did not think it would be this kind of struggle but it has but with most things you have to work really hard to achieve the outcomes and successes become worth so much more.

Today, after a lot of laughs, some tears and a few bouts of anger, I am more at peace with life.  Here are my present day thoughts,  

Over the past couple of years, I have learned some real lessons.  The first is to really appreciate the little wins.  It is him using ‘I want’ for the first time.  It is him making eye contact even for those few fluttering moments.  It is being excited that he can put his own truck together.  Things that seem small to us are usually huge to him and positive reinforcement really seems to help to lead to further progress.

The second thing I have learned is that I have a remarkable amount of patience.  This is especially true when I take a step back and remember how far we have come (see the first lesson).  Interestingly, I had a student in this morning who I gave the, ‘if it was easy, you would not appreciate it’ lecture to this morning.  It is because of the struggles that the ‘wins’ mean so much.  So to keep my patience, I remind myself to keep my eye on the prize and remember that it is a marathon and not a sprint (can I get any more clichés in?). 

The third lesson I have learned is that no one cares for your kids like you do.  It is important to remember that teachers, therapists and other professionals serve multiple masters.  Yes, I believe that they do want what is best for my child but they can only do it within the parameters of their organizations.  If you really want something for your child, you have to be willing to, albeit nicely, fight for your child.  Sadly, in the therapeutic and education realms, the squeaky wheel does seem to get the oil so much more frequently.  You need to be engaged and willing to call out people when necessary.  Further, you also have to really support the ones that go above and beyond.  I hate fundraising but for my son’s teacher, I will raise whatever money she needs because I know she will maximize its benefit.  The support we deliver to her goes a long way to enhancing our son’s life.

Fourth, you have to make time for yourself and your relationship with your spouse.  It is so easy to get caught up in your children’s world even without the autism diagnosis.  Add in autism and your life can be consumed with theirs’.  When that happens, your stress level rises and causes you to not be able to be the parent (or husband) you need or want to be.  It is imperative that you take time for yourself and take time with your mate.  I have learned that having a child with autism requires a lot of balance in your life if you are to remain sane in the situation.  I am still working on this aspect and it seems to be a constant battle but I acknowledge it for what it is.  That acknowledgement alone has helped tremendously.

Overall, my life is a good one.  Three great kids, a loving and incredible wife (this is her blog) as well as a job that I could not have more of a passion for.  Have I had to make a large change in my life? Most definitely; I will not be the research guru of the field I wanted to be.  Then again, as a result of working less, I have a better marriage and I believe I am a much better dad.  I also believe that I am a better professor and mentor to my students.  Do I act balanced?  I am getting there…slowly but surely.  Did I think autism in my household would change my life for the better?  Of course not (especially at first) but over time, perhaps autism has caused my life much more fulfilling than I ever thought it could be.  The pieces of the puzzle are slowly coming together to create a beautiful picture.  When I look back to what I wrote just over two years ago and compare it to where I am today the funny thing is that I was so worried about what I couldn’t teach my son - that I never considered what he could teach me.  It is funny how life works like that sometimes.  Where I once dreaded the journey, today I have come to relish it.