Autism Awareness Month and Mother of the Year

This is a letter I wrote to a lady with a Child with Autism...this has history and some of you know it and some of you don't. I want to make sure that everyone knows about autism, it is coming to a family near you sooner than you like!



I got the greatest gift the day after World Austism Awareness Day. (april 5, 2008)
I get a telephone call from a lady connected to Branch (my son) through a job program that he participates in school. She also volunteers with the County Fair to help organize it every year and her program that she runs is the Mother of the Year Contest that is held every year. A family member writes a letter about the mother and it is voted on by a committee and the top five are sent to the judges. How flattering that a member of your family wants the whole world to know that you are the best mom in our county. (how cool is that anyway...remember I am the mother of teen agers!) LOL

My beautiful son wrote a letter to tell everyone that "My mother is the best mother of Santa Rosa County." Wow, "gulp" here come the tears...he never said I love you to me spontaneoulsy until he was 7 (it was the day before his 8th birthday and I cried like a baby). Wow! Here he is at 17 reading a letter he wrote to tell everyone how he thinks I'm the best mom in the county! The letter stated some observations about me, I am a teacher, I am a scrapbooker, I like to go shopping at Target and I like going to Starbucks. He then says I take him to guitar lessons, she cleans our house, she gives me new video games, and take me everywhere. Not a super sophisticated letter, but the love in it, is amazing. He noticed so much about me that I didn't think he noticed and boy does he notice! The results of the contest were not that important...I came in 4th runner up (5th place) hehehe...but really I was THE MOTHER OF THE YEAR... I kept thinking back almost 14 years ago thinking: If I believed everything I was told when he was diagnosed. I don't think he would have ever done all the things that he has accomplished in his life. I didn't believe in what they told me, I said "No" and proceeded to teach him the things that I thought he would need. I did a lot of things right by accident and then when both of my children were in school I went to college and became a special education teacher. I was hoping to stay ahead of him by this field of study and...sometimes it works, sometimes it didn't and then I found that he taught me WAAAAAAAY more than anything I learned in college! :)

Funny thing about all the things we do for our children with autism when they are very young...it PAYS OUT! I know my son will live on his own, I know he will have a job, I know he is going to be OK when I leave this world. And because all of this will happen, I know I have done my job and here is the best part ...HE NOTICED!

If you read all this, thank you for letting me share.
Happy Autism Awareness Month. :) We will get the message out >>> HOPE!



Here is the actual letter that he wrote...if you click on it, it will come up larger on your screen. :)






Here we are at the Santa Rosa County Fair, Branch is reading the letter to everyone. (this is the first time I heard it too!)
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Branch and I on the stage, getting my award and stating that April is Autism Awareness Month. I let everyone know that I was more proud than I could even state! :) What an awesome kid!

This is us on stage and I was awarded a beautiful picture of the prettiest hibiscus and a goody bag of items from the Santa Rosa County Fair. (It includes a 30 minute massage!) Yippie!

Ok, I know this is a longer post than normal and not a thing to do with scrapbooking! I will add a Flikr show of all my layouts for the month soon. Hopefully before next month starts! :)

Thanks for reading and letting me brag about my boy! I love this guy! He is an awesome kid!
Laura

Comments

SenomesDesigns said…
Laura, this brought tears to my eyes - Branch is such an awesome boy!! you have EVERY right to be proud of him! I am too - and I've never even met him personally! HAHA

Congratulations to you both!
Julie
Slender Octopus said…
oh this is so nice.........:)
Thnaks for sharing it...was a nice end to my whacky day.

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