Just a Normal Family

I got through an entire frozen winter without getting sick. Then a few Spring flowers and a little hot, wet, and cool weather does me in. I’m sick as a dog, running a temperature and losing my voice. Nice. My bride has been telling me for a week she wasn’t sick. While the whole time, coughing all night, nearly peeing in bed. Now she feels better, while I lay here with the blankets pulled over my head.

This shouldn’t surprise me, it’s been going on 30 years. First the kids get sick, then they bring it home and get me and their Mom sick. It’s a vicious circle that you hope would end as they get older. But here we are, still worrying about the kids getting sick. We have a son with Asperger's syndrome and for the most part life is fairly normal. But there are still times let when he’s ill that the lack of communication skills gets in the way.

At 27 I wish we had the services you can find in a larger community. But here in rural southern Georgia, help for the mentally challenged are few and far between. There used to be “Service Centers” that did training. But with a lack of “normal” jobs available, there are no centers around here anymore. As always we involve our son with as many activities as we can. I tried to make sure his siblings didn’t treat him any different. He does chores around the home. And he’s my sometimes driving companion, since I’m apparently too old to drive alone.

I wasn’t raised around special needs individuals, but for the past 30 years, I’ve lived with two. You learn a lot about yourself watching the struggles of those with challenges. The things we take for granted, that they struggle with everyday. But you learn patience and you learn gratitude. That you were given the privilege to learn from such brave and determined souls.

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