Focus on me
Good morning everyone. Welcome to my second posting on life as an autism mom. If you have not had a chance to read my first blog posting on “life of an autism mom” please take time out and do so. My hope is to give you guys a monthly update not only on Jayson but also how we as a family are coping as we continue in this journey of autism. This month I will like to focus on ME. Yes me. In this journey of autism, we as parents and caregivers can so quickly forget about ourselves. Self-care becomes such an afterthought that we can go months, years without taking time out for ourselves. In a previous blog titled Challenges of being a parent of an autistic child, I discussed the importance of taking time out for YOU. Whether it is ten minutes in the bathroom alone or a midday nap, whatever you can do to keep yourself from going crazy or keeping a healthy balance….do it. For the first time since Jayson’s diagnosis, I decided February 2020 was my month for an extra special ME time. My sister from another mother, Anita, and I attended The Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at the Hippodrome in Baltimore. For those that are not familiar with Shen Yun, it is a Chinese dance and music company that performs classical Chinese dances. The dancing, the colors, the theatrics was beyond what we could’ve ever imagined. We can’t even fully describe how beautiful it was. Even the Hippodrome Theater was beautiful. As soon as we walked in, and up the stairs were three posters with the following statements (as shown in the picture below):
o Fearless is stepping it up
o Fearless is finding your voice
o Fearless is taking the spotlight
What beautiful, empowering and uplifting statements. So, what did I learn about this experience you may ask? I learned that ME time is not just something nice to do once in a while, it is absolutely, positively and without a doubt needed. The year is still young. Please please please, if you haven’t yet done a “BIG” (what you consider big) thing for yourself, please take the time out to schedule it and DO IT. You will thank yourself later.
Jayson’s Report card
As for Jayson, he is doing great. School is going great. I am so grateful for his teachers and his one-on-one support. He is learning so many more words. We still have a few challenges, but he surprises me every day. I am so grateful to our Heavenly Father for keeping His hand upon him. With Jayson knowing 56 out of 60 site words….and counting, you better believe I am still dancing in my house!
Emma is doing great as well. I did what all parents need to do, which is….block youtube from their devices and from their young minds! I felt like I was losing my daughter and today for the first time, she actually thanked me, which brought tears to my eyes. We are still working on incorporating her into daily activities so she doesn’t feel as though all of the attention is on Jayson. Just as autism is a journey, it is a constant learning experience as to how to bring Emma into Jayson’s journey so she still has her own childhood but also feels empowered to help support her brother through his challenges.
I pray what God has for us in March is better and bigger than we could even dream or imagine.
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, be and stay with us now and forever. Amen!
Stay blessed!
With love,
M.J.