A better outlook today

The kids slept well last night. We got out this morning to Tae Kwon Do just in time before the rain began. I considered not going because I knew bad weather was coming, but I am glad we went. There were only two other students in class and three instructors. So the boy pretty much got a private lesson and did some good work on his kicks.

Sometimes I wonder about his diagnosis of high functioning autism. At times he has skills that he is not 'supposed' to have. He can often tell what the girl wants when she is screaming. I recently asked him what a friend was, and he gave this great answer. "A friend is somebody you love." Today during class, I watched him kick the bag, and then look to his instructor for approval. Guys like him are not supposed to be able to read nonverbal cues, or be able to see where the other guy is coming from.

He is also now beginning to understand math. I heard him figuring something out loud the other day, and could not believe it. So I have been quizzing him. He knows that if I put 7 grapes on the table and take away two, he will have five left. I am still trying to explain what the words "plus" and "minus" mean.

Days like today are good, when the worry has not taken over, and I can see some positive things. It bothers me to see him refuse to go in a public restroom because he is afraid of the sound of the public toilets. I long to see him consistently give me and others good eye contact. When he goes off on an hour-long monologue about the parking garage gates and elevators at his grandparents's condo, I know he is having on 'off' day.

But today I have hope. Maybe someday he will catch up on that two-year lag in his motor skills, and zip through the neighborhood on his bike. Maybe he will be somebody's best friend. When he grows up maybe he will love and laugh with me just as I do my folks now.

Not so hot

Today I am feeling kind of stressed out. For one thing, we have had SO many extra expenses the past couple of months. Endless prescriptions and doctor visits for both kids' allergies, sinus infections, ear infections, pink eye, and Ed's strep thing/urgent care visit. Oh and the car broke down. And the dog has had a couple hundred dollars of bloodwork to rule out some causes of his seizures.

And, Tae Kwon Do has proven a bit more expensive than I initially thought. I called them yesterday to find out how the pricing changes after The Boy finsishes their Basics program. The office person there said she had meant to call me anyway and set up an appointment to discuss it. Guess that is when they will really sock it to us. I checked today with the Rec Center and they offer Kung Fu for half of what I pay for Tae Kwon Do. However, if it is a heavy contact sport, it will not work for him. I need to get by there and pick up one of their magazines that has the info about how the classes are structured and who teaches them.

We have to make some changes to stop the financial bloodletting.

I guess I am feeling overwhelmed by lots of stuff. I never did get around to making my eye dr and dental appointments, and it will be that much harder to find something do to with the kids when they are out of school.

Last night I took a long walk to try and feel better. I have been dieting for about a month and have lost six pounds. Seem to be stuck here though. If I could exercise more it would probably come off.

The Boy has a friend over but he is more just acting silly and crazy than playing. Our friend spending the night this past weekend did not go well. The Boy was moody, and just did not want to play with him half the time. Any loss of social skills makes me worry. I try to keep in mind that usually he has periods of more difficult behavior, followed by good times.

Eddie is in Ft. Worth today at a car parts swap meet. He has been in a crummy mood, so I am half relieved he is not here. Just wish I could go somewhere.

This is our oldest

I would love to post pics of the kids, but don't feel it is safe to do so in such a public forum. So I decided to put Louie, our 7-year-old Italian Greyhound on. He used to be the most annoying dog alive. Louie is fast, like his full-sized cousins. He has to be on a leash or within a very tight fence. The last time he escaped he made it halfway across town. The only problem with him being on a leash is he refuses to do his business.

One night, in August of 2002, we were having issues with this. Eddie was at work on nights, and I had been dealing with 2-year-old Aaron and a restless dog all day. After I had taken out three times I'd had enough of his asking to go out and then doing nothing. So I hooked him up to the lead we'd rigged in our fenceless backyard. Not five minutes later I heard him yelping and I knew something BAD had happened. Rushed out into the darkness and just grabbed him up. My fingers slide inside a wound, and I thought I actually had my fingers inside an abdominal wound. Brought him in and wrapped him in a towel. Then I called my mother-in-law to sit with the still-sleeping Aaron, and headed off to the emergency vet. There was blood everywhere, and I was not sure how much blood a 10-pound dog could lose and still make it. I called Eddie at work and he was devastated, but unable to leave.

It turns out the large wound was in his upper hind leg, and he had four others that would be stitched up in surgery the next day. As I went to bed that night, the sound of that poor dog yelping replayed over and over in my head. I was sick to think I had placed him in danger. We speculated as to what could have caused it... a racoon? an owl, a large hawk trying to carry him off?

He came home two days later, moving very slowly. I hand fed him scrambled eggs and baby food, just as the vet had instructed if he wouldn't eat. Thankfully, he recovered uneventfully. He is now a legend in this neighborhood. Several people have stopped me and said, "Is that the dog who was attacked by a hawk?"

We now have a fence, but we do not put him out there at night. He is getting old and has seizures now, but we are happy to have him. He is no longer hyper and just wants to be a lap dog.

The stuff fairy tales are made of

I met my husband while I was on a date with this guy. He was bad for me, but so good looking, the kind who before had never given me a second look. He showed up at my house with this tall, skinny fella, and I was immediately annoyed. His friend Eddie had a tie-dyed t-shirt on with the Rolling Stones lips logo, and a baseball cap turned backwards. We all went to a restaurant on the beach and had a decent time.

Bad Boy and I dated a couple more months, and then things took a bizarre twist. He abruptly moved to Houston, and got some pretty interesting roommates. He had been kind of unavailable to me, and I knew something was up. The last time I spoke to him was when he called me at work. He was completely bubbly, happy, and said he loved me for the first time. I did not believe it. He said he'd bought me some clothes at a Western Wear store. (I was into that at the time---eeek). He had only just gotten a job as a waiter, and I wondered how he managed to buy clothes. We made plans to do something Friday night.

Friday night came and I did not hear from him. I eventually called and reached his roomie. He told me Bad Boy had been put in Harris County Jail for hot checks! So that was the end of us. I was not even sad, just shocked and disgusted.

A few days later, his friend Eddie called me. He wanted to know if I was ok. At that point, I was suspicious of anybody who was a friend of Bad Boy. I flat-out told him that I thought Bad Boy had put him up to it. He said no. He continued to call, and I discovered that he knew his pal was troubled, and was just trying to help him get back on his feet. He said he was sorry that I had gotten involved with such a mess of a person.

Eddie kept calling. I soon felt very at ease with him. About a month later you might say we were dating.