teen-countdown

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Aug 3, 2004, Beth’s age: 7 Beth is a tough nut to crack, but she’s even harder to read. The lead into the new school year had all the emotion of a new pair of socks. (What do I have against socks? Why am I picking on socks in general? As a child, I was permanently scarred by the cruel and unusual gift of socks on Christmas morning.) It was so unlike my experience. I remember the first day of elementary school with [...]

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Jun 18, 2004, Beth’s age: 6 (almost 7) Death? Taxes? The Yankees wining another World Series? A six year old child with an attention deficit, a pinch of hyperactivity, and a bow and arrow? Yes, Beth had a busy day on Wednesday. I was picking her up from camp and her group leader was explaining all of the activities they participated in that day. They started with a hike through a local park, followed by some canoeing, another hike, swimming at the pool, [...]

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Apr 6, 2004, Beth’s age: 6 Recently my daughter told me I say “no” too much. I told her there was a simple solution to her problem: she should ask questions she thinks might have a different answer.

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Feb 16, 2004, Beth’s age: 6 Last year our daughter’s school suggested testing for intelligence. They offered to test her to determine if it would be appropriate to place her in the Gifted Program. Cheryl was all for it. I wasn’t so sure. How much harm does it do a child to be labeled? Does it matter if the label is good or bad? Is the end result the same? Are expectations placed on someone that may not be appropriate or to the [...]

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Nov 4, 2003, Beth’s age: 6 Did you know that doctors will prescribe medication for something other than it’s originally intended purpose? An example is the hypertension drug minoxidil. People taking minoxidil many years ago may have noticed one of the side effects: “… may result in increased hair growth…. ” Doctors later figured out you could smear some on your head… and the rest was history. Everyone is familiar with the standard reasons for having children: leaving a legacy in this world, [...]

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Oct 31, 2003, Beth’s age: 6 The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Beth has known this from an early age. Now what do you think happens when the shortest distance between two points is also the hardest traveled distance between two points? If you are Beth, and the shortest distance has scaleable living room furniture in it’s path, then this is desirable. No, make that damn near impossible to resist. I foresee a rearrangement of furniture in our future.

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Aug 11, 2003, Beth’s age: 6 Over the years Cheryl has sometimes been a little quick to claim: “Beth is just like you John.” She might be referring to any of a number of little things. Beth saying something smart. Beth sitting in strange, contorted positions while watching TV. Beth exploring the limits of her abilities, improvising when necessary to achieve a goal (usually something Cheryl doesn’t want her to do). These are all examples of when Cheryl might invoke the “you’re just [...]

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Jul 10, 2003, Beth’s age: 5 (almost 6) We have been thinking about Beth’s birthday present for some time now. Tonight we took action. Cheryl called around to see which stores had the item in stock. After a couple of disappointments we found one that had it. Cheryl took off this evening after dinner to pick it up. When she returned we were both eager to open it up and see what all the fuss was about. Sitting on our bed, gathered around [...]

I thought a lot about this one, whether I wanted to keep the tone light, or round out some of the experiences we’ve had raising a child on the autism spectrum (high functioning though she may be). I wasn’t looking for a fond, proud, or pleasant moment. I was thinking about throwing in one that represented the opposite of all those things. I finally decided on a compromise. In a way, I’ll leave it to you to decide. I’m posting a lighter post first (re: the name of this post). Afterwards, I’m including a post called “Venom,” which I’d originally [...]

Counting down the days until Beth’s thirteenth birthday with a few reposts from the archives. Originally posted: Apr 30, 2003, Beth’s age: 5 Stop me if you have heard this story before: A little kid goes potty and has a little too much fun with the toilet paper. Three towels, two liberal applications of disinfectant, one roll of paper products, and at least half a dozen months of life expectancy later… the bathroom floor was dry again. Every child must learn what volume of solids a toilet can handle on their own. Unfortunately for the parents of the world, it’s [...]