Nope, I Didn't Disappear!

Like every other home, Autism Households can get a bit busy at times, and I haven't been able to write as much as I would have liked. But oh the shenanigans, projects and family drama this house has seen over the last month!! 

My home has been abuzz for the last while, so hopefully you'll forgive my lack of posts recently. 

Here's what Days of Whine and Rosé been up to!!

Dee Gordon:

Dee is a fierce and proud autism mama like moi. But unlike moi, who let's her fingers do the talking, Dee let her feet do the walking and Walk to Ottawa was born.

Dee walked over 500kms from her home in Etobicoke, Ontario to Canada's capital, Ottawa. Yes. WALKED.  Dee's goal was to raise awareness and help push the Canadian Parliament to adopt a nation wide standard of services for autistic individuals and their families. Currently what you get depends on where you live, not on what you need. I found out about Dee's mission and though I couldn't WALK with her, I did my best to spread the word. Dee blows my mind!! Yes, she made it to Ottawa. Yes she got an audience with influential politicians. And Yes, her petition for a pan Canadian autism service model is STILL garnering signatures. But guess what? She's not done yet!! 
Things are still in the planning stages, but it looks to be a wonderful next step in Autism acceptance, services and strategies within Canada. Keep an eye on her Walk to Ottawa page as well as this blog for further info when its available!
In Dee's words:

Walk to Ottawa Jan 15th-29th,2015 500+km Raised awareness, education & gathered signatures asked the Federal government 4a Pan-Canadian ASD strategy now what?We are about to change Canadian history. Are you excited? Together we can make a difference We need to reach out to all provinces. People (can ) email us with their interest & provinces / territory

you can email Dee here



I Don't Need A Cure:

I am sure, if you are reading this blog, that you are very likely Autism Positive. You understand that autism is indeed pervasive in that it is part and parcel of every aspect of the autistic person. The "bad stuff" is not really autism at all, but challenges with anxiety disorders, sensory processing difficulties, or communication. Put aside the fact that as autism is genetic, there cannot be a cure and examine why someone would not want to be cured if indeed it were possible. The very attributes that make an autistic person "odd" in society's eyes are also the very attributes that make them special, and add great value to this big old world of ours. Hyper focusing on a particular subject may seem annoying, or may seem to limit the persons ability to "join" the world, but it is just that hyper focus that gives us advances in science, technology, the arts, theology, you name it. Being hyper sensitive to the world around them may make them unable to cope in certain situations, but it also gives them an uncanny empathy.  To eliminate what is considered a detriment would also eliminate their greatest gifts. It is not a "cure" that is needed. It is acceptance. I started work on the I Don't Need A Cure Flashblog after a world wide brainstorming session about another matter. It is receiving wonderfully great attention, and I am very proud of it, but as its in its inaugural phase, it is taking up quite a bit of my time, making it difficult to sit down at the keyboard to just "write".

I am very proud of "I Don't Need A Cure" and would be thrilled if you checked out the site, and even more thrilled if you contributed and/or shared!!

click below to find the main page!
I Don't Need A Cure Autism Flashblog

Life
Yeah, Life:

Life has a crazy mixed up way of just happening all around you even if you don't have time for it. And in our household over the last 2 months we've had an excess of life, and death, and stress, and stress tests, and illness, and heart attacks, and broken legs, and (insert adjective expletive) exes causing (insert noun expletive), and triumphs, and setbacks, and anxiety disorder hell, and legal issues, and more stress and yadda yadda yadda. The load was quite a lot to bear (especially with a 17 year old son deciding to dive into the role of a typical 17 year old) so I had to take a step back. I had to find something to cut back on in order to keep functioning everywhere else. What I forgot was that writing has been my outlet, my relaxation, my SPACE.  So I'm back!! Hope you missed me, 'cause I sure missed you!

Friends in Trouble:

The family of a wonderful close friend recently experienced an horrific trauma. Sydney, a young woman with so much promise, was run over by a military vehicle while out jogging in Morocco. Sydney was simply studying abroad, when everything was shattered. The driver was jailed, but the Moroccan government has done little to help Sydney or her family.  Its really challenging to sit and write about my trivilties knowing a good friend and her family have been going through so much. I set up a Facebook page to help bring awareness to this horrible accident, and to help raise funds to bring Sydney home from Morocco. You can find the Facebook page here 

Work:

Shockingly, I do not make a living writing. I do however have a pretty au-some job. Years ago, when Eric was diagnosed, I trained in ABA and SPD. I found I was actually quite intuitive when it came to assisting and supporting those with various challenges, including those non verbal and aggressive, and that they were able to bond with me quickly and find ways to communicate with me. I found I liked supporting people with special needs, and that I am good at it. I am lucky enough to ENJOY my work, and get way more out of it than I give. Because my work is not work, its people, glorious, fabulous AU-SOME people! 

But over the last few months I've had to miss a lot of work. (See LIFE above) So I have been struggling financially, but worse, emotionally. I hadn't realised just how much I actually do GET from my work. Personally. On a very deep level. 

I am so glad to be back at it, back with some pretty fabulous people, and being reminded just how extraordinary this world can be when you look past your own troubles. 

Puppy Love

We got a Puppy. I don't think I need to explain to anyone who has a dog why that's kept me busy. 

To those who don't have a puppy, five words. Pee Poop & Chewed Up Everything. 

ALL THE TIME.

(and yeah, this section was solely added to enable me to show off my sweet Coco!!)

LONG LONG WINTER

Like everyone else, this winter seems to have flicked on the hibernation switch in me. I haven't gone dancing, haven't gone to the art gallery or the museum. Heck, getting out for groceries seems like an insurmountable task (thank heavens for on-line grocery stores!!). But today is officially the first day of spring, and so please see this post, not so much as a "Why I've been gone" post, but as a farewell, glad you're leaving note to winter!!

So glad to be back at it, and so sorry to have gone away at all! 

XOXOXO