Some of you have written me that you wish you had our snow so I am sending you a picture as our New Year's card to you. The little pointed ears to the right of the tree (before the half buried covered wagon) is a deer figure. It is so deep that you can't see much but ears. The sundial my mother gave me is on the far left. Not very needed at this point in the year.I am reflecting on the last year while Billy Ray is taking an unexpected nap and I am trying to capitalize on it by getting laundry running, writing to you and working on a writing project to hopefully increase understanding for families with complex children.
This time last year was filled with excitement. We sold our house and my manuscript was accepted in a two day period in November. We moved to LaPine on December 20, 2004. Boxes filled the house and I was trying to finish the Parenting Your Complex Child (AMACOM Books, April 2006) for a March 15th deadline. We could have never anticipated then what this year would bring.
Billy Ray's health crisis this summer caught us totally off guard but we got through it and learned so much in the process. One of the things I learned is that each day Billy Ray is with us even the days he breaks special things or pulls my hair is special. There is nothing that brings that reality closer than nearly losing him. The other thing I learned is that you can count on your support system if you swallow your pride and let others help.
It has been exciting in terms of all the new contacts and friends I have made. I got to talk to Dr. Temple Grandin and laugh with Dr. Bernard Rimland both of which was a thrill beyond descriptions.
At the beginning of this year my literary agent, William Brown, suggested I do a blog. I didn't even know what a blog was. I was more than willing to try because his advice to do my website has brought opportunities to talk to folks all over the world about their complex children. True to form his advice has opened a thrilling experience to get acquainted by email and comments with many of you.
I just have to confess that I am a child at heart at Walmart. Thus, when we found that my book is already available for preorder through Walmart I was so excited. It was thrilling to see Amazon and Barnes and Noble adding it to their sites especially since I buy so many books at both sites every year. Don't know why I was so excited to see Walmart carrying it but I was.
Hope the new year brings steady progress for your complex child. You will note that I didn't stay big milestones. Savor each baby step as if it were giantic because it is.
Until tomorrow,
Peggy Lou Morgan
www.parentingyourcomplexchild.com
www.lighthouse.com
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3 comments:
Happy New Year Peggy ~
I like the photo of the snow. My son Nicholas (almost 11 HFA) wanted snow, but we are in Los Angeles and he has never been in snow or even touched it.
I noticed that the home page of the Wall street journal mentions a story about a boy with Down Syndrome. I cannot read the story since I am not a subscriber, but wanted to pass it on to you.
http://online.wsj.com/public/us?refresh=on
It starts out by saying - Eli's Choice - For years, Eli Lewis was the only student in his class with Down syndrome. His parents fought for him to be in the mainstream. As a teenager, he told them he just wanted to be with his friends.
Great news to hear about your book getting listed on Amazon and Walmart.
Bonnie Sayers
BellaOnline ASD Editor
Heck, I would be thrilled to have a book much less at Wal-Mart.That means that it will open doors for the masses, just think of the exposure. I can't wait to get your book and learn from you and all your experience(s) with Billy Ray.
Although we have not had a near death experience I do understand what you are saying about how each moment, no matter frustrating, is a special time and is to be appreciated and cherished. I wish to say that you have enlightened me and shared your wisdom such that I now have a new perspective on living with the challenges of autism. Thank you for sharing your stories and insight with us each day.
Lora
Thanks for the comments everyone. I'm pleased if our experiences are helpful to you.
As for the snow about this time I would love to pack it up on a truck and send it anywhere but here. If only it would say cold long enough to get to Nicholas.
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