So last night, after Yom Kippur ended and we broke the fast, we came home, put the kids to bed, and settled in… with my tikun (Torah readers’ bible) and another plain-jane copy of Etz Chayim.
This coming Saturday, my wife’s reading Torah, in honor of the twentieth anniversary of her Bat Mitzvah. Continue reading
So after four days on the road, I’m finally back at home with the kids.
Now, I’d actually have written yesterday if I’d not had a nightmare trip home – lightning hit our airport’s control tower, sending someone to the hospital and shutting down flights for about three hours. (The person is, according to the 11 PM news, okay and resting at home now, thank goodness.) Instead, I arrived home very late – far later than I’d planned – and my kids were mostly asleep when the wife pulled in from her rehearsal. Continue reading
I don’t travel frequently for work.
I’m a software development manager – until about six months ago, I was a developer – and most of my team is based in the same office where I work. While I do work for a large, multinational company, my meetings are more frequently over the phone or video conferencing when it involves folks in distant offices. Sometimes, though, there’s that need for face to face contact. Continue reading
So, we went this weekend to go visit my family for a change, as part of a trip to hit Surfers Healing in Belmar, New Jersey. We don’t see my family often – there’s a great bit of distance between us, physically – and so this was the first time in a while that they’ve seen R and the Monster.
Because it was lovely weather, we decided to get out a sprinkler and let the kids go splashing in it. Continue reading
So, Rosh Hashanah starts tonight, and we’re back to the same old problem – what to do with the kids.
In past years, we’ve had babysitting at the synagogue, which has made what to do with the children easy. Even easier, last year, the holidays were during the week, so we simply sent the Monster to school, and while R was too young to go to sitting, we could manage him in the quiet room. Continue reading
So, as I mentioned on the tweet feed last night, obviously I didn’t post yesterday because we were busy – we decided to take advantage of the long weekend to make another run up to Sesame Place.
The morning started out ominous. We’d made the decision (albeit, with me pushing it) to go to the renfaire on Sunday instead of Monday as originally planned, due to the threat of rain. Let’s be honest – it’s little fun running around the faux-16th Century in the rain, trying to push a stroller through the mud while managing multiple children. Instead… it ended up pouring while we drove up to Langhorne, to the point that we were dreadfully concerned that it wouldn’t be proper weather for enjoying the park. Continue reading
If you’ve ever wondered how children with Autism would have been seen in the Middle Ages… well, a renfaire really is probably at least as close as you’ll get to the concept.
We enjoy going to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. We’ve been hitting it since before we had kids, and even now with children, we still try to go at least once a year to enjoy the sights. Continue reading
According to the GPS data from the bus company, the bus arrived at school on time today, for the first time all school year.
The whole ordeal of trying to get the school system to ensure that my child is on time to school – and this is the second year in a row I’ve had to push and push – has made me reflect quite a bit on what I’ve learned since we got the Monster’s diagnosis. Some of these, obviously, pertain to just about any parent with their children, but some have special emphasis for those of us with children with special needs: Continue reading
Our morning routine is fairly straight forward – while the wife’s finishing getting the Monster ready for school, I typically head downstairs five minutes or so before the bus is supposed to arrive, take his backpack with me and start watching for it. The idea is to be ready for when the bus comes around the corner, so we can take him out and get him on board as quickly as possible.
This morning, when I walked downstairs, I could hear a diesel engine idling. Already having a good idea of what to expect, I opened the door. Continue reading
I’ve spent the last few days being very negative about the Baltimore City Public Schools, with regards to Autism. I’ve smacked them around regarding the choice of the schools where the program is located, and about the transportation services they do – or, frankly, do not – provide.
And that’s all fair. Nothing I’ve said is untrue.
What is unsaid is the positive side, and I do not want to give anyone an impression of the school system’s efforts towards children on the Spectrum as the modern-day version of tossing kids into a back room and ignoring them. Continue reading