Adventure in the Big City!

What a week! I have had some interesting adventures. Have you ever read the story of the City Mouse and the County Mouse? Well, I was the country mouse in the big city this week! I was in Nashville Monday through Wednesday at a conference. This was a big deal for me for several reasons. First, I was excited about several of the sessions at the conference and second, I was very nervous about leaving Michael. I have only been away from him two nights since his birth almost eleven years ago and I was afraid it would affect his school work. Everything turned out great, though. I think I need to start at the beginning!

I have known about this convention since June but waited until August to get a hotel. I wanted to see how Michael was adjusting to school before I committed to spending the night away from him. If I needed to, I would have driven to Nashville every day. After school started and he was doing so well, I decided to stay in Nashville since the sessions would run so late into the afternoon. The problem was that most of the hotels were booked so I went with a good old Best Western that was close enough to the convention center that I could walk. This turned out to be a huge mistake! The first day of the conference was good except the driving into downtown in the morning. (How do people do that every day?!) Anyway, in the afternoon, it is time to leave the convention and check into my hotel. I just about died! First, those blasted downtown streets and their one-way signs! I went around the hotel three times before I figured out how to get into it! Then, there was no self parking so I get to deal with valet parking for the first time. (See! Country mouse!) I walk into the lobby and figure out that this hotel is OLD. That is no big deal but when I see the old elevator and my room, my heart sinks. How will I stay here for two nights? I decide to be a trooper and make the most of it. My good friends from school save me for the night and take me to Green Hills to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and then I do some shopping in Davis Kidd bookstore and wander around the mall. Around 9, we head back to our hotels. (They are staying at a nice one, by the way!) I get settled and into my pajamas when it occurs to me that my hotel door has no barrier to the outside. The hotel is older and all of the doors face outside. I am not usually a scared person but I'm sort of freaking out by the thought of it. (Too much watching Nashville news I guess!) At midnight, I slowly relax and snuggle into my sheets and I smell something. Great! What is that smell? Do I want to know? I finally get to sleep sometime after 1 am. I wake one other time in the night when a door slams and am up for good at 4 am. Yep, three hours of sleep! I surf the Internet and watch TV and make a plan to go next door to the Sheraton where some friends from the conference are staying. At 6:30 am I am dressed, packed and standing in the lobby checking out! I go over to the Sheraton and find out they do have a room and about cry with happiness! My friends and I go to the conference and have a wonderful day. We walk back to the Sheraton and after I check in, I haul all of my stuff into a large room with the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on! I open the curtains and there is a beautiful view of the Nashville skyline. Awwww! I get my stuff settled, call my sister who lives in Nashville and drive over to see her new condo and head out to eat with her and my niece at Charley's. We have a great night and I head back to the hotel for some much needed sleep. The next day, I attend the final session and head back home to see my two guys. Whew!

It was an interesting experience for this country girl. I am glad for the opportunity to attend the convention and I am grateful to have a supportive husband who said to go for it. As for this weekend, this country girl is staying close to home!

Quiet Times

We are enjoying a quiet Saturday. Michael and I loved having Fair Day away from school. The fair had its ups and downs this year. The up was when my niece Lucy won the 30-36 months division of the baby show! She did great! The down was our 30 minutes at the fair with Michael. He did the bungee jump and went through the fun house and was done with rides. The rest of our time was spent trying to explain why we were not going to try and win one of the huge stuffed characters at the dart throwing game. The guy working the game was kind enough to tell us that a) no, we could not buy it outright and b) it would take 16 popped balloons to win the big prize. At $5 for three darts, it would have been insane to try but Michael just could not understand why we didn't play. He is satisfied now because I came home and ordered a smaller version on Ebay. I just hate trying to get things through his head sometimes! I know it is not the autism; all kids think they can win the big prize. We are finally getting through his head that the claw machines at Wal-Mart are a rip-off. Oh, well. At least I did get a fair cheeseburger! The funnel cake will have to wait for next year, I guess.
Everyone enjoy the rest of your weekend. For us, fall break is just around the corner! Yea!

We Walked The Walk!

Under a gorgeous sky, we gathered with thousands of others Saturday to fight for our children with autism. It was held at Bicenntenial Mall in Nashville.

Michael had a hard time and he went to the car after a little while. It was just too loud and too much stimulation. The rest of us walked, danced and laughed and just enjoyed the day. We raised $3,046! Isn't that incredible?! I am just so humbled and grateful to everyone who supported us. We more than doubled what we made last year and it goes to education and most importantly research to find out what is causing this nightmare. The statistics are now 1 in 110 children and 1 in 70 boys will develop autism. That is too many. We will walk next year and the next until we find a cause and more treatments to help our kids.

If you want to see more pictures, I have lots on my Facebook page. If you want to see them, just add me as a friend. (No, I am not begging for friends! I am just not putting lots of pictures of my husband, son and family for everyone in the world to see. At least on Facebook, I can pretty much control who sees them-I hope!)
Anyway, we are thankful that the rain held off and lots of money was raised. I will rest a few months and then we will get Team M&M into money-making form again!

Ready To Get Wet

This weekend is the autism walk in Nashville and there is a 60% chance of rain. We might be swimming instead of walking! The walk is at Bicentennial Mall this year. I have never been there so I am not sure what to expect. I am a little nervous because it is not fenced in. The last two years, it has been at the Nashville Speedway and our kids were safely fenced in. (The problem for me is that running is a common characteristic of autism. Michael is over that stage, thank goodness, but I remember how I was constantly on edge every time we went out in public. He was nine years old before I did not hold onto him going into Walmart.) I hope we have a good day. The rain is not big deal. What is the big deal about getting wet if we are raising money and awareness to help our children?! I do have to say that I am so proud of Team M&M. We have doubled what we raised last year thanks to some generous folks who have big hearts. If I can, I will post some pictures after we get back from the walk. Keep you fingers crossed that we have a break until the walk is over!

Yea! Labor Day Weekend!

Oh, my goodness! I don't think I have been so glad to see a long weekend! This has been such a stressful week. Let's see.

Stress #1- Last Sunday, I got a phone call at 4:15 am from my sister. "Can you take me to the hospital?" Me: "Yes, what's wrong?" My sister: "My chest is hurting." Me: PANIC! I run into the bathroom, brush my teeth and throw on some clothes and decide I can comb my hair with my fingers on the way! I get to her house and she tells me she can drive herself if I can stay with my two year old niece. Yeah, right! I pick up my niece, still asleep and get her in the car then get my sister in the car and off we go to the ER. On the way, I call my mom and step-dad and tell them to meet us at the hospital to get my niece. Long story short, she had pneumonia. She was in the hospital overnight and is feeling better but she is still moving slow.

Stress #2 is school. I love teaching and I have good students but let's just say the work never ends! I was behind all week grading my papers and new requirements are constantly being added by the state. It just seemed like I was behind all week.

Stress #3 is Michael. He is doing wonderful in school. We couldn't be more proud of him. I am thrilled BUT I am going through my old case of doubts and slight depression. I want him to have a great life and be happy. I want him to be able to have a job and live on his own and it scares me to think that may not happen. Yes, it is a spiral I go down. I was talking to another mom who has an autistic child and she was saying pretty much the same thing. I told her that I was sorry she was feeling that way but I was relieved that I wasn't alone in feeling scared for the future. I just keep reminding myself that God has a plan. That keeps me going!

So, on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, I have FINALLY been able to relax, much to my husband's relief. I have not been very pleasant to live with this week! I have lots to be thankful for and I know I am blessed. One thing I am grateful for at this particular moment is the wonderful smell of hamburgers cooking on the grill and my only job is to eat them! Yum!

I hope all of you have a great weekend!

Whew! What a crazy two weeks!

I think it has been too long since I posted but since school has started, I have been a little distracted. Here are some things that have been happening since the last post:

*Michael is still doing great in school. He has made 100 on two spelling tests and is working hard on his other subjects. My life is so much easier when he goes to school in a good mood!

*We are counting down to the walk. Team M&M has $1580.81. We are 7th in the state right now. Yea, team!

*I am enjoying the cooler weather. I want to start walking around the neighborhood again. It has been just too hot to walk in the afternoon.

*I am thinking about going to Gatlinburg this fall. Yes, we have not been in over ten years! I cannot imagine how the traffic is now because it was awful then! I need to start looking at cabins. Any suggestions appreciated!

*I have been feeling very grateful for family and friends lately. I think we take people for granted sometimes. I know I do.

Well, that was a random post! I will write something of a little more substance as soon as I get settled a little more into school. We have the fair and birthdays coming soon so I should have lots to write. Take care!

Team M&M Is Moving On Up!

Team M&M has $1,195.81 and more should be added any day now! Yea team! I am proud of our team. Right now, we have the 7th highest amount in the state of Tennessee! What I love about helping Autism Speaks is quite a bit of the money stays right here in Tennessee. I know that Vanderbilt just received a big grant. Another thing I like is the push for awareness.
As for the actual walk, the first one we attended was really hard for me. Right before the opening ceremony, I looked around and saw thousands of people and just started bawling. Why are all of these children affected? How wonderful that our children had thousands to come out and support them. I was just overwhelmed. The second year was much easier. The walks are nice because our children are "normal" on that day. Everybody understands when children start flapping their arms, making sounds or having a meltdown. We just look at each other and smile and it is so great that they get it! This will be our third walk and what a difference three years have made. Michael is doing so well in school. We are so proud. Yes, he is not where his "normal" or "typical" peers are but he is working toward it. There is hope and that is why we walk. We want every one of these parents to have hope for their children and we want our children to have a happy life.
The walk is September 11, 2010 in Nashville. I will keep you posted on Team M&M's progress.