A mermaid, a turkey, a tiger, and a butterfly all walk … out of Amy’s room. I told you we never know what she will look like when she emerges. Even on a day when she doesn’t have time to do elaborate face paint, she still usually has eye shadow and sparkles to match her outfit so that her entire being is a work of art, which of course it is, even with no make-up or face paint.
Tuesday was a hard day for Sarah at school and I picked her up early to help her regain her equilibrium. As we have learned repeatedly, she doesn’t like being told to stop doing something or being told “no.” I don’t know of anyone who likes being told such things, but Sarah feels it keenly and expresses herself so fully that it really doesn’t work for her to stay at school sometimes. Luckily by the end of the day she was in good shape for hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma while Carl, Amy, and I went to see Les Mis.
Les Mis was as amazing as ever, but the most impressive performance was far and away by David Thomas Walker as Javert. It was only later that we learned he was the understudy for that role. He was phenomenal.
The next night Carl took Sarah to a Penguins hockey game. Sarah was excited to take the bus there and thrilled when someone got put in the penalty box. They had a wonderful time overall until it was time to go home and the bus didn’t come. They were cold and tired and eventually got an Uber, but Sarah was sad about that part because she loves riding the bus so very much. Thinking about the next day and standing around in the cold some more, Carl made the difficult decision that they should skip the Turkey Trot.
However, some turkeys are not to be deterred. Sarah woke up and really wanted to do the Turkey Trot, even if it was cold. Sarah, Amy, and Carl quickly got bundled, ate breakfast, and went off to trot. I stayed home to prepare food for the family feast at noon. They were all glad that they rallied. It wasn’t as cold as they had expected, and there were new shirts to be had so Sarah was satisfied.
Our family feast with Carl’s family was as delicious and abundant as it is every year, although I learned some things. 1) I don’t like the Field Day stuffing mix – it has too much seasoning. 2) A crust is actually important for the frozen avocado-based key lime pie that I always make. 3) condensed milk is not the same as evaporated milk (I know, I know, the name says it all, but my cupboard did not have it all). After the feast we went up to our mountain house in time for dinner. Our traditional post-Thankgiving-feast dinner is turkey sandwiches, Pringles, and pickles, especially sweet pickles. When I was growing up, my grandfather would call sweet pickles “peet swickles,” so that is how you will see such an item written on my shopping list. Yesterday we had Thanksgiving round two with Carl’s family. We played games, walked in the woods, were told by hunters to turn around because it is deer hunting season and we looked too dear, and ate tons of delicious food, again.
To continue Amy’s movie education, we watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. We all loved it. Sarah only watched a small part of it, but since she delights in things going wrong, this was right up her alley. Last night we watched Moana 2. Sarah didn’t want to watch it at all, which was surprising because she likes Moana. Amy, Carl, and I enjoyed it even if it wasn’t quite as good as the first one.
Within the past two weeks I was scheduled to be on three podcasts. Two of them fell through for various reasons (not mine) and have yet to be rescheduled. The one that actually happened, the Mother’s Guide Through Autism is already available. If you are interested in any of my podcasts you can look on my Events and Interviews page or search for my name wherever you go for your podcasts. When I wrote my book it was to share my story, and it has been helpful to realize that podcasts achieve that same end even if listeners don’t buy the book. I have loved connecting with all of the different hosts. Everyone asks slightly different questions, sometimes resulting in tears or laughter and always resulting in a meaningful conversation. I feel like I’m at the end of my podcasting run, as I don’t have anything more scheduled. It has been a wonderful experience, and if anything pops up in the future I will be happy to do it.
Wishing you the magic of trotting tigers and emerging mermaids wherever you may be.
Leave a Reply