Thoughts and illustrations on living with Asperger's Syndrome.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Retro Mommy Blog, Part 1

I enjoy reading many of the mommy bloggers out there. They are humorous, insightful, loving parents and advocates. I’m grateful to count several of them among my fans.

But at times, I do get a bit envious. Things have changed since I was growing up. In my day, we had no mommy bloggers. We had no knowledge of Asperger’s. No testing. No diagnosis. No access to the online community there is today. What would mommy blogging have looked like 25, 30 years ago? I wonder…

Sunday, September 4, 1983
End of Summer Wrap-Up

Well, here it is, Labor Day Weekend. How quickly this summer of ’83 has come and gone! Soon Poohboy and his brothers will be heading back to school. We’ve had a very busy summer – in fact, it’s taken me this long to get to the store and get the pictures developed! (BTW – Pathmark will now get them back to you in 5 days! So convenient!)

Here’s Poohboy and friends at his birthday party. I can’t believe he’s 8 already!

He picked out the Return of the Jedi cups and plates himself. In fact, for weeks he’d been planning out his party to the last detail. Case in point: one day he walks into the room with this dreamy look on his face and announces to whoever’s listening, “I wish that my birthday cake was… a whipped cream cake, with blue gel writing that says ‘Happy Birthday’… And jelly beans… and jelly beans around the edges! MMMMM! Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? Mm-Mm!” Um, yeah. A subtle hint-dropper, that one.

Poohboy’s had lots of fun with all his presents, but he seems to really enjoy the Legos. Here’s a picture he took of a house he built! Such a talented boy!

We took lots of family trips this summer. The kids are pretty good in the car ever since we started bringing the tape recorder so they can record themselves and play it back. They make up gibberish songs, speak in character for their stuffed animals, and audio-bomb each other’s monologues by shouting “Oh, hiii-yee!” Then, they fight scream at each other end up crying have friendly sibling disagreements. But less often. So, this is a good thing.

Where was I? Oh yes. The trips. Here we are at Sesame Place to see the Bird.

And here’s Poohboy, his brothers, and dad enjoying the ball pit!

And, here’s a suddenly terrified Poohboy two minutes later after they all ventured into the deep end where their feet couldn’t touch the floor. He was convinced he was going to drown! Fortunately, the helpful attendant was there to save him.

This summer was also Poohboy’s second at JCC day camp. Here, he’s shooting baskets at Parents’ Night.

His counselor remarked to me that he never plays sports; he always sits on the side and watches. We ask him why, but he doesn’t want to say. Poohboy does like the art projects and swimming, but I wonder whether he likes camp overall. I’m just waiting for him to grow out of this phase and become more outgoing, so he can make lots of Jewish friends.

Unfortunately, not long after this was the Great Arm Break of 1983. So I get a call from camp, saying Poohboy had tripped over a tree root and started screaming bloody murder. The counselor said my son routinely spent minutes at a time circling round and round the big trees on the campground, while the other campers were off playing together. I’m starting to wonder what they pay these counselors to do, anyway.

Anyway, I arrive at the nurse’s office, where Poohboy is still distraught. It was like he was having a meltdown or something. At the doctor’s, he kept pleading, “I don’t want a cast! I don’t want a cast!” But eventually he calmed down and was relieved he would only have to wear it for a month. Soon he was back to his old self and building his own Frisbee golf course in our backyard!

And that about brings us up to date. Next week is the start of school. Poohboy will start the third grade, although he’ll go to fourth grade for reading and math. Such a smart boy! He’s always felt extra special to be a “double grader,” as he calls it. I’m proud of him too. If he can do it, why shouldn’t he have a head start? His teachers and I know this will help him get into a good school years from now, and have a successful career. Just think! The sky’s the limit for him!

OK, bragging over. That’s a long way off. For now, I’m so glad you could relive our summer memories with us. Stay tuned for our further adventures as we move into fall and the school year!

Posted by mom2poohboy at 10:11 AM 0 Comments Links to this post 

To be continued...?

2 comments:

  1. Well done...loved the pictures-they brought me back..and pathmark??!! Haven't thought of that supermarket in years..:)

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  2. Thanks Kathleen! We still have Pathmark where I am, at least. I almost wrote A&P instead, but they were on the way out at the time, and probably didn't have a photo counter.

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