Re: Re-intro

[Guest guest]

Hi Rhonda,

A very warm 'Welcome Back'! Lovely to 'meet' you. Hope you're

doing well. I'm a fairly recent member, married with 3 children,

though two are pretty much fully grown(Josh - just turned 19, very

talented singer/songwriter/electric guitarist currently doing an

Honours Degree in Music Virginia - turns 17 on Friday, very sweet,

straight A student studying Psychology,Maths, Art & German, also

gifted on the flute - 6 in December doing brilliantly at

Maths, much better with computers than me! very sweet boy. That's

us. I'm 5 years older than you. An Aussie living in England and

looking to head home asap!

Do you have any children, if it isn't too personal a question? I've

really had a time of it battling mainstream school for appropriate and

respectful treatment of my son of late. After a very stressful time

of it, have managed to make some changes happen and had a very

successful 50 minute meeting with 5 staff members on Monday of last

week - it seems to be a neverending battle. Was difficult enough

with our first son minus a diagnosis, but even worse for our youngest

with a diagnosis!

More than enough from me. Hope life is treating you well.

Regards,

-

-- In AutisticSpectrumTreeHouse , " Rhonda " <rkage@j...>

wrote:

>

> Hello,

>

> I've been a member of this group for a while, but haven't posted in a

> quite a while--probably over 1 1/2 years ago. I am 33 and was

> diagnosed with AS in 2000. I look forward to becoming involved in the

> discussions here.

>

> Rhonda

> http://www.geocities.com/connectngthedots_2002

[Guest guest]

Thank you, ,

You must be happy to have such talented children. It seems also

fortunate, too, that there is a considerable age difference between

your older children and the youngest. My niece is autistic and my

sister is constantly trying to figure out how to balance the needs of

her autistic daughter (age 4) and her non-autistic daughter (age 7). I

realize it's a challenge either way, though.

I met my husband briefly at a company meeting, but we didn't really

communicate with each other until a chance incident two months after

that, when I spoke to him on the phone regarding a brochure in which

he had made some spelling errors/typos. I called him about that and

commented on his design, so he emailed me artwork and from that point

forward, we began emailing back and forth and chatting via ICQ. We

lived in different states, so our relationship developed almost

emtirely online. By the time we met again, we had no less than 500

pages of communication, which was one month later. We had many

similarities (though he does not have AS) and really felt understood

for the first time. Then we both moved to a different city to be

together (his job took him there), after only 7 dates, though we

didn't move in together, and my main struggle was with finding a job

and navigating a different city.

Various things happened, which makes for too long a story, and we

ended up in his original hometown and were married last year and have

a 6-month old baby, plus his two children from a previous marriage.

I wasn't sure how I would handle motherhood. I really believed all

along that I would like 1 child, but didn't actually set out to make

it happen because I wondered how I could take care of a child if I

couldn't really take care of myself. But she's here and I'm happy that

I have a baby. I'm far from being a typical mom--I read many, many

things also because I want to do the right thing for her. I do

struggle with house-cleaning and other things, but even so, I never

thought I'd be able to get this much done around the house, ever!!

She's a good baby, and very curious about everything. I also had to

give her a nonfunctional computer keyboard for her to play with while

I am using the computer. I did have feeding problems, but solids have

nearly solved the problem. I do very much wonder how I will handle the

'twos'.

Sorry to go on....that is what I tend to do.

Rhonda

http://www.geocities.com/connectingthedots_2002

[Guest guest]

Congratulations on both your marriage and baby! Truly lovely to hear

you have found someone to share your life with and making what sounds

like a wonderful job of motherhood!

Now that's what I call an online romance!!! 500 pages! And I

thought I could write!!! Wow! So lovely that it developed from there.

I was set to be a Navy wife. Was engaged and had been very happy in

a three year relationship, but commonsense prevailed. His Mother

would have made my life hellish! I went on to be swept off my feet

by the most gorgeous man I've ever seen(both on the inside and the

outside) and have never met anyone yet who could compare. We have

lived a very exciting life, working in the U.S.( My husband had

computer contracts with IBM & the Met Police -Washington D.C.) Also

worked for Scotland Yard, BBC, London, IBM in the U.K., very

interesting and prestigious opportunities. We had the opportunity to

move to California when Rob was offered a contract with the Bank of

America, but after careful thought, declined, staying in the U.K.

I have had an exciting career myself with special needs children and

in nursing. Life never ceases to amaze me in terms of the

opportunities that have come along and the amazing people we have met.

I wish you all the best with the 'terrible two's' though I'm sure

you'll be just fine. I'm here to lend an ear should you ever need,

or a shoulder! That's great that you're reading lots. Love that

you provide your baby girl with a keyboard for when you're on yours!

It's pretty late here now so I'm off to bed! Enjoy that beautiful

babe! Look forward to catching up with you again soon.

Take Care,

- In AutisticSpectrumTreeHouse , " Rhonda " <rkage@j...>

wrote:

>

> Thank you, ,

>

> You must be happy to have such talented children. It seems also

> fortunate, too, that there is a considerable age difference between

> your older children and the youngest. My niece is autistic and my

> sister is constantly trying to figure out how to balance the needs of

> her autistic daughter (age 4) and her non-autistic daughter (age 7). I

> realize it's a challenge either way, though.

>

> I met my husband briefly at a company meeting, but we didn't really

> communicate with each other until a chance incident two months after

> that, when I spoke to him on the phone regarding a brochure in which

> he had made some spelling errors/typos. I called him about that and

> commented on his design, so he emailed me artwork and from that point

> forward, we began emailing back and forth and chatting via ICQ. We

> lived in different states, so our relationship developed almost

> emtirely online. By the time we met again, we had no less than 500

> pages of communication, which was one month later. We had many

> similarities (though he does not have AS) and really felt understood

> for the first time. Then we both moved to a different city to be

> together (his job took him there), after only 7 dates, though we

> didn't move in together, and my main struggle was with finding a job

> and navigating a different city.

>

> Various things happened, which makes for too long a story, and we

> ended up in his original hometown and were married last year and have

> a 6-month old baby, plus his two children from a previous marriage.

>

> I wasn't sure how I would handle motherhood. I really believed all

> along that I would like 1 child, but didn't actually set out to make

> it happen because I wondered how I could take care of a child if I

> couldn't really take care of myself. But she's here and I'm happy that

> I have a baby. I'm far from being a typical mom--I read many, many

> things also because I want to do the right thing for her. I do

> struggle with house-cleaning and other things, but even so, I never

> thought I'd be able to get this much done around the house, ever!!

> She's a good baby, and very curious about everything. I also had to

> give her a nonfunctional computer keyboard for her to play with while

> I am using the computer. I did have feeding problems, but solids have

> nearly solved the problem. I do very much wonder how I will handle the

> 'twos'.

>

> Sorry to go on....that is what I tend to do.

>

> Rhonda

> http://www.geocities.com/connectingthedots_2002

[Guest guest]

,

It is rare, and refreshing, to hear of someone speaking so favorably

about their lives and families as you do.

I am also fortunate in many ways.... but I am not to the point of

saying, " It's a great life! " I actually struggle with trying to pull

my life together and to get to the point in which I can do the things

I want.

I do love my baby, though, and an additional benefit (it sounds weird

to say this) is at least when nothing else gets done (and it probably

wouldn't have been done in the past, either) at least instead of

sitting there feeling sorry for myself or being upset at my seeming

inability to get things done, I can sit on the floor and play with my

daughter and at least know I am not only NOT wasting my time, but that

I am doing something actually positive for her, doing what matters

most for her.

Rhonda

www.geocities.com/connectingthedots_2002

[Guest guest]

>

> Hello, ,

>

> Sorry it took so long for me to reply! The past few days has really

> been something! My husband and I both went into

> meltdown--->shutdown-mode plus we're still recovering from the flu.

Hi Rhonda, you need never apologise for taking time to reply. I'm

hopeless in this area!!! Life is pretty hectic here so I apologise

likewise. Sorry to hear you and your husband have both been unwell.

Hope you are recovering now. It's that time of the year!

>

> At any rate, I've got a tree story, too! A couple of years ago, my

> husband and I were living in a tiny apartment--so small most of our

> things remained in boxes. He brought home a cat for me earlier that

> year, and she was such a loyal cat to me (she's missing right now). In

> December, I bought a very cheap fake tree, and the branches barely

> balanced in the slots. While I was decorating the tree, my cat became

> EXTREMELY jealous and was hissing at the tree. She seemed to calm

> down, but a couple of days later, my husband and I went out of town

> leaving in the moring and returning in the evening. When we opened the

> door, all we saw were branches, broken ornaments and garland covering

> the whole apartment floor. The cat was romping in the mess with a

> flared up tail. Apparently, she only wanted to break the gold and red

> ornaments, not the purple or blue ones. She also broke the base to the

> tree!!

Don't you love cats! Our two in Oz used to sleep beneath ours at

times and Rocky once climbed our freshly cut Christmas tree in order

to get to a nest of baby birds we'd been completely oblivious to! We

rescued them swiftly!

>

>

>

>

> > Babies grow up so quickly

>

> You're right--my baby's almost 7 months old, which is so hard to

> believe. It's odd, that the event of giving birth seems so distant in

> my mind, yet the passage of time with respect to my daughter seems so

> quick. And she's so tall!

My daughter was very tall at that age too and grew to her current

height of 5'8, towers above me! I figure I'll probably be looking up

at her kneecaps in my old age at this rate! My husband is 6'6 so

it's not surprising both Josh and Gin are a little on the tall side,

well,by my standards anyway! Your daughter's a lovely age, your days

must be lovely! There's so many great activities for this age and

beyond. Hope she's sleeping well for you.

Take care,

>

>