Don't Be a Shtarker...Thanks dad.

It's a rare day when I stay home..barely do anything...not rush around to get out the door...be somewhere.
Get those cups of coffee in, check the emails, check the hopeful Ebay "sales", take out the Beagle...
Well...the last couple of days, I've been laying low, nursing my eye.
Really want to make sure this little thing that isn't too bad, doesn't get worse.
Got myself to the great Dr. Eichler..Senior, that is...junior is great too:)..got my Anti-biotics and drops, and figured...it's my eyes, have only 2..I should be smart.
My Dad's expression, "Don't Be a Shtarker" was in my mind's eye when i got home from the appointment the other day.
It basically means, don't be a tough guy...let things pass in their own time...don't do what you can't do even if you think you can.
I used to be the Queen of doing everything, because I COULD.
Well...I learned, I could, but it would probably not work out too well, and I'd probably lose friends, relationships, and even kill a plant or 2 along the way.
I learned I had to give up control of everything, and what a great thing that was to learn.
All things will happen if I worry about them or not.
I am not responsible for my first thought but responsible for what I do with the second.
I couldn't control what happened to my eye, but  I'm responsible, to the best of my ability, to help it heal.
& I can chill out for a day or two...not being a Shtarker, doing for others, preparing for future events, when there's time for that, and that IS NOT procrastination.
That's just smart.
Glad my Dad's expressions have worked their way into my life.
With him, I can do anything....
Thanks, Dad.
Next week, I'll be able to visit my Dad, because this week, I wasn't a Shtarker:)

Today is for you

Autism can sustain us or drain us.

We wake up, find out through a variety of "things" that our child is Autistic,  and the picket fence falls.

No.  Our picket fence will stay up, yet others try to strip the paint; Natures' time rusts the nails.

Schools tell us they won't give us services. We feel alone. Shut out. Apart. Sad. Angry. Tired.
Rinse, Repeat.

We fight, we cry, we blame.

We isolate.

This is the time to reach out, no matter how much it hurts.

It's always!!! that first phone call for help that is the hardest.

Then..ahhh, we find we are not alone, and there are others going through the same thing we are.

The marriage and family we dreamed of as a child will be different.

It will need extra structure.

Everything and everyone requires unique ingredients for success.

Some cars get plugged in...some gas...Recipes...cleaning...the list is endless.
It's our child that requires special ingredients to him/her day so they can manifest, maintain and extend that which will enable them to flourish in this life.
We also need our time, to manifest, maintain and extend our emotional well being so our thinking doesn't interfere with our actions.
Think. Act. Feel. 

WE cannot change what is.

But we can change how we approach each day, which if you are a woman, and mother...sorry guys...will be the emotional thermometer of the home.

Women set the pulse.

It's just that way.

So if we take care of our "spiritual health", if you will, we can approach anything with what will become the greatest ride of your life.

A family, with an Autistic child.

...and what family is normal?
Others don't have to "get it". We need to remember it really doesn't matter what other people are thinking. It's our family, our child. & we will do whatever it takes. Yet we must take care of ourselves first, as trite as that sounds, it's imperative.
It is deserved.
It's ok. We might not always see the flowers lining out picket fence, but once the seeds are planted, if we nourish them to the best of our ability, we'll see and feel the beauty within and around us.