Happy Mothers Day!

I probably have had the best Mother's Day EVER!!!! Chris and the kids made me breakfast this morning. They gave me their gifts and we went to our old church. We saw tons of people we haven't seen in ages and I sat next to one of my best friends and her four children during Mass. The kids were perfect. You will here this from me over, and over, again. Our daughter Willow is Autistic and we never know how she will react to a novel situation. New experiences scare her and she often reacts in the only way she knows how: crying fits. Visiting family or friends is always a source of incredible stress for us. So when things go smoothly it is AWESOME! Earlier in the week, I told my Uncle I wanted to come to his Mother's day cookout but I was worried about Willow. I explained how stressful it was to take her places. My Uncle listened carefully and then did something novel. He said: " Tosha, what can we do to make things more comfortable for you and set things up for Willow?" I explained a few things and he said they would be happy to do it and told me not to be anxious if Willow had a bad day. We went to my Uncle Gary's....and the kids blew out in their backyard. No crying, no fits, no meltdowns. Despite my Grandmother's warnings about keeping Willow out of my Aunt's flowers, every pluck, was met with a smile and shrug from my Aunt. We had one of the nicest family outings we have had in ages. I think the most interesting thing is that my Aunt and Uncle never had any children. Because they did not have any preconcieved ideas about childrearing, they were able to accomidate us in a way that most can't. Because they lacked judgement. There was no criticism, parenting advice, or running around telling my daughter "No-No! Don't touch the pretties (which should be put up--but that is another column)!" They were happy to have us there...even if it meant a few missing flowers. Ahhhhh...I can't wait until the next cookout!