"Grandma You Have a Morer Heart and are Very Nice"

Before I start my silly nonsense I want to say the reason I haven’t done much writing is this…due to health issues, feeling very tired AND getting old, I find that sometimes I don’t have the energy to use my brain. This anecdote was actually started awhile ago (the end of the summer) but having some issues and then ending up in the hospital, this was pushed to the side. Now I want to finish it! The thoughts will dance around in my head but the strength isn’t there, so I save it up and then have at it…so here I go!

This past weekend (which as I previously mentioned was actually awhile ago) I watched my two little buds (Drake and Riles) so my daughter Jefner could have a much needed and deserved rest…OK! OK!…so she went to Vegas with her best friend…good for them is what I say. Jealous much is what I also say. 

It all went very well. Friday night I told my little darlings to PLEASE let grandma sleep in the morning because I’m so tired. The little angels let me sleep until 8:30am. Jen will have a fit when she hears this (they wake her at 5am sometimes) but I am grandma after all! They also probably figured if they behave I will spoil them rotten, which I must confess I did. Saturday was filled with all kinds of fun.

We got dressed and went to Golden Corral (buffet) for breakfast. The kids ate like little beasts and had a blast. They seemed so proud of themselves for staying out of trouble. I have to admit I was really impressed. Maybe they were just too full to misbehave…ham, sausages, eggs, pancakes, hash browns, biscuits, fried peppers, chocolate covered strawberries and marshmallows, ice cream and mountain dew. I thought that I would throw up! They were fine. 

While driving home from our breakfast outing, the begging started. Grandma can we go to the pool? Grandma can we go to the pet store? Grandma can we? Can we? Oh can we? We’ll be good…we promise… And then Drake pulled out all stops! As I was driving towards their home I hear Drake say: “Grandma…you have a morer heart and are very nice! What did I just hear? I have a morer heart? A MORER HEART? How can I possibly not be swayed by those magically mystical words. Boy this kid is learning how to finesse with words. 

While driving, my heart was bursting from the words I had just heard. Wanting to play this for all it was worth I said quite innocently, and with a big grin on my face…WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY MY LOVE? CAN YOU PLEASE REPEAT WHAT YOU SAID? I knew exactly what he said but being the big baby that I am I wanted to hear him say it again…and he complied! GRANDMA YOU HAVE A MORER HEART AND ARE VERRRY NICE…

Guess what! We went back to the house, and on their bathing suits went. We packed up all the water toys and off to the pool we went. They had a grand old splashing time. They were so good, it was decided we would go see the animals when they finished in the pool.

After going home and changing into dry clothes, we were off to the pet store for a grand old time with the animals. Drake and Riles played with many animals and Drake had a blast holding them. I myself would RUN from the spiders, snakes and other icky stuff, which seemed to be his favorite. My oh my oh my!

On the way home we stopped for an ice cream and a great day was had by all of us. 

Autism Felt Like Two Derailing Trains

Something happened earlier tonight that actually took my breath away. It was also a major eye opener as far as the flip side of the coin where autism is concerned.

Tonight was my weekly dinner date with my favorite little guy in the whole wide world. I think I will say to Neptune because he tells me he loves me to Neptune…so I’m convinced that’s very far!

We happily got out of my car after parking in front of Burger King…little man was ready for a Whopper Jr. and some goodily good fries. Yes we were back on track considering last week he lost Dinner Date night due to naughty school behavior. 

Upon entering this royal establishment I looked to my left and saw this teenager staring at my little precious and wondered why he was doing this. Little guy was behaving! Not acting out. Perfect little gentleman. Then I saw him staring at me and I just figured it was because I was wearing a portable oxygen tank. Then I thought what the what? He’s turning around in his seat and staring at my buddy boy and then shifting his gaze towards me. Now I’m thinking why is this kid doing this? So being the mature individual that I am, I looked him right in the eye, and was getting ready to say, “Is there a problem?” At this point I’m thinking this kid has surely seen or learned about an oxygen tank so it must be directed towards Drake, and now I’m getting really upset. 

Thank God I kept my big mouth shut! His mom saw my expression of HUH? WHAT? and said…He has autism. My heart shattered. I looked at her and said, “WHAT? He has autism? My grand”sun” has autism. Oh man…I thought he was making fun of my grand”sun!” I was absolutely devastated. All I could say is, “why is this happening? So many kids…”

This was an epiphany moment for me. People with a child/children, relatives or friends with autism can’t understand the ignorance of others pertaining to this dastardly devilish disorder. And here I was…GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY. That boy didn’t show any typical outward signs…typical…what the hell is typical…and I thought he was being extremely rude. OMG! I was being rude. I am so locked into my own bubble I couldn’t see beyond my own self. That’s when I realized why so many people give funny looks. They see no outward signs and assume it’s bad behavior. Taught myself a hard lesson. But in my defense there are many ignorant people who do see signs of a major problem and still don’t get it. Could it be fear? If they keep their head in the sand will it go away, and not find them or someone they love? Man oh man…