Share Your Story

Naethyn's angelversary was March 6th. I made it through another one and entered year eight. I can't believe that he'd be 8 years old - sigh. At times, it feels like life just seems to be flying by. Other times, I feel like everything and everyone around me is changing all the time and I'm just watching it all happen. I don't know where the time has gone. My hair dresser's son was in the 4th grade when I was pregnant with Naethyn. Now, T is in the 4th grade and her son is graduating high school! D is already asking what car he might drive in a few years. I think he has his eye on one of our vehicles and is worried we might sell it before he has a chance to drive it. I'm so not ready for any of that. Well, because we had just visited CA two weeks prior, we decided to stay put for his angelversary. I bought a little cake and watched his two brothers devour it. They talk about him openly a lot which I'm more used to now. D mentions him sometimes in his speech sessions as does T. Makes me smile and ache for the life I had once envisioned. I know, it's still a very good one.

So, we talked about it in the past, but never made any firm decisions. It's a topic that's come up in conversation a lot over the past year or so. We didn't know if we were really ready to become parents again, but we finally made the decision to adopt! The report doesn't give a lot of information, but I can share what I know. He's a boy, 2 years old, and his name is Jack. We were able to view his picture online to get a glimpse of this new addition to our family. We were hopeful and scared, but our kids had been asking and we couldn't find a reason to delay it any further. Jack is our new cat! We wanted our kids to have a childhood pet and we figured we'd better hurry up while they were still children. I had been looking at the humane society for a few weeks. I checked again one Thursday night and there were three black cats available. Ever since Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 album, I've wanted a black cat. Looked at this cat's information and he was already altered, front-declawed, and micro-chipped. Score! Someone spent some time and money on him, but for whatever reason, the micro chip was a dead end. I enlarged his photo on the tablet and propped it up on the couch to get a feel for what that might look like. Not that it matters, but he does fit quite nicely with our furniture. We all agreed.

Called over there the next day, still available, drove down, and visited him. He was not happy that we woke him up from his scheduled cat nap. Having second thoughts, I started to look at some other kitties there, but then T calls out to me and says, "Mom, I think he likes me." That was it and he was coming home. He was literally Jack-in-the-Box! We liked his name, so we kept it. Bought all of the cat necessities and he settled in pretty quickly. We joke often about his life on the streets. He was found at a high-end shopping mall. He does have teeth like a staple remover and at times we call him "Jack the Nipper." He was very purry at the Vet's office and he even said, "You got a good one." He's clean, playful, and he's been a wonderful distraction. We got him the Friday before Naethyn's angelversary. I know I'm hiding some pain with this feline, but he's been good for all of us. D was reading the free info book on cats we had been given and found that cats can help lower blood pressure. "Hey Mom, you should pet him a lot!" Yeah, I know. Jack is sort of like a therapy cat for T as well. It's been really fun to watch him play and take care of him. The boys have cat chores and that's going well. They point fingers at each other for whose turn it is to scoop. I knew we weren't ready for a dog. Maybe when T is older it is something we can revisit, but for now, we are all content with Mr. Jack. Found a super cute cat collar with treasure map and cross bones and better yet, it was on CLEARANCE! 

I'm not sure what we were talking about, but it was school-related. T started to recall some things that happened to him while in Kinder. It has taken him four years to articulate some of this stuff and it's bewildering. He said, "Why did that Principal always take me out of that classroom?" I know he's referring to the times he was taken out for "disruptive behaviors." Well shoot, if you knew the alphabet when you were 2, bored out of your mind with Kinder curriculum and had sensory issues, wouldn't you be out of your seat pretending to be a horse on the carpet or some other animal with hooves? Of course you would! His school, no (ABA) training, no willingness to get him the right supports, no wanting to spend the funds they were receiving for his diagnosis, nothing. If there's one decision I can be happy about in the last 8 years, it's that we made the right decision to pull him and do it ourselves. When you can't depend on your village, you do it yourself! I might have to get that made into a bumper sticker. So, I just reiterated to T that his school didn't know how to work with him nor did his Principal.  I don't know what else he might recall about those days, but I'm just so glad that it didn't hurt his spirit or his love of learning. Had we left him in that environment, I think we'd be seeing a completely different kiddo. I like the kid I see everyday. I love his attitude, approach, and creativity. It's autism month, so you can still wear and light it up blue all month long. Light up something, I won't judge!

March for Babies walk is tomorrow in our area. We are going with our Batman for Babies theme and "Prematurity is NO Joke" slogan. Found some shirts at Kohl's and Target and that's going to have to do this year. After we walk, I'll search for Naethyn's flower(s) in the angel garden, the saddest part for me. We've come a long way as a family. I'm still unraveling a bit, but I suppose it's normal. I keep waking up and I keep going for these two cuties, and Jack. 

D at UBS Hero Event 2017 - I got to take home the Eiffel Tower centerpiece!

Celebrating Year of the Rooster at Sea World - D is a (Fire) Rooster

Jack-in-the-Condo

Jack having his feather time:)