Bits and Pieces

Austin does not like me to sing. It's ironic, really. When he was only 3, virtually the only way I could get him to listen to me was to sing everything. I was just 27 then--a young bewildered mother of one--and I would spontaneously compose such engaging masterpieces as "It's Time to Get Dressed" and "Come to the Table for Dinner". It was my ace in the hole if I wanted his attention. These days, though, my singing is generally met with contortionist ear-covering which, since that is not sufficient to block all sound, is accompanied by his own loud humming, talking, screaming, whatever it takes to obliterate the sound of my voice.

We have done two rounds of
Auditory Integration Training
with Austin with mild,
though significant, results.

My once little boy is now 11 (and a half). He's already a belligerent pre-pubescent with a very strong personality. But I can match him, being now a seasoned 36-year-old mother of two. My youngest, Carter, is now six and blissfully neuro-typical (that's PC for "normal" for those uninitiated of you). My boys are inseparable, a bond I indulge by homeschooling them both.

My days are spent enmeshed in the business of education and therapy. This is not what I thought my life would be. When Austin was born, I fully intended to pursue some self-aggrandizing career once he was old enough to enter the school system. In my life as an only child, I had never really had occassion to learn the virtue of self-sacrifice. It still doesn't go down easy every day and the results aren't always pretty. But I'm in there with my sleeves rolled up, hacking my way through the lot that chose me.

So, I will let this serve as the barest of introductions to my world. The rest you will have to get in bits and pieces as I share my unexpected journey with you.