Tag Archives: autism

No good deed goes unpunished

I just spent two hours on my employer’s computer, fighting network troubles and antivirus “improvements”. Not a good time, and a bad way to finish an otherwise quite good weekend.

mia_mcdavid and I got up a little after 8. After breakfast she did some spinning, while I did some woodworking in the shop. Very satisfying. Afterward we went to church in Minneapolis again. Something had been bothering us there from the service two weeks ago, and I had a chance to ask the Rector about it. Her explanation was entirely satisfactory, or, as Helmuth, Speaker for Boskone, would put it, “complete and conclusive”. I don’t get that nearly as often as I would like.

Afterwards we visited Tom, taking him for a visit to Como Zoo. By and large this was OK, although we were forcibly reminded of a couple things that do not work well with him. It is a a little frustrating that he did not seem to really notice the animals much, although that may be partly because a lot of them were doing the sensible thing and napping in the middle of the warm day. Perhaps those of us who are getting on in years could notice and appreciate that more than he did.

Ballastexistenz

Ballastexistenz is a blog by an autistic person. The title is explained in her about page. I found this via Monastic Musings, the author of which wrote

“I know that she has contributed to my understanding of what it means to be human in a way that no non-disabled person could.”

That is what being one of Tom’s parents has forced down my throat given me: A far greater understanding of what it is to be human, that I could not achieve otherwise. The experience has been, and still is, incredibly painful, but it has made me a better person, and for that I am grateful.