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| Left overs & a Yohoo! Waiting on Jayden to be born. |
Until I was a father I didn't know what awesome was. Looking back on pictures of when Jayden way born...gulp...8 years ago, I was a kid myself. I took him to the zoo as a baby, we went to Monsters Inc. on ice when he was a toddler, saw scooby doo on the big screen. I was all about it because I was into that stuff too. Dressing my son in little skull & crossbones shirts from baby gap and paying $60 for a pair of infant Chuck Taylor Converse shoes. We were snazzy looking to say the least. It seems like it was years later, maybe even this year, before I realized that 'man, I really have become a dad!' I'm not talking: 'I had a kid so I'm a father' I mean: 'There is only one pizza roll left on the plate, here ya go buddy you take it'
1.) Eating habits change & mold to match your kids! I faintly remember a time when I would sit down with a slice of pizza, eat it, & go on with my day. Now, even when I'm at work or it's just me & my wife, I still have the crust laying on my plate. If Jayden does eat a slice of pizza it's only after all the toppings have been taken off & then a layer of Parmesan cheese has been put over it so most of the time he just ends up eating my crust. The same applies with Tacitos! I'm sitting at the ambulance station & they are laughing asking my why I have not eaten any of the ends....My sons eat the ends...their not here....I look silly...crap!
2.) Eskimo Kisses, need I say more! Group of college kids that live next door out in front working on their hot rod? Guy walking by giving you a dirty look so you give him the stink eye back? Just generally trying to keep somewhat of a tough guy exterior? Not when you're Eskimo kissing three noses & catching blown kisses while not forgetting to put them in your pocket so you don't loose them.
3.) Phineas & Ferb have Asperger's & Zack & Cody have a sweet life! Sometimes if I'm not watching P's & Q's I will break out into the Phineas & Ferb theme song while hanging out with the guys. My favorite example of this one is while working I was called out for a man that had barricaded himself in a house with a shotgun firing at police. After he was subdued they called my ambulance in to check him out & bandage him. As my partner & I crawled into the back of the police car where he sat yelling, spitting, kicking, & cussing we tried to bandage him. About that time over him yelling how he was going to kill us my phone goes off. "OHHHHHHHHH, Who lives in a pineapple under the sea! SPONGEBOB SQUARE PANTS!"
4.) The Value Of A Dollar! You know how when your grand dad used to say he remembered when milk cost a nickle? Well, now stop & think of how much things cost when you were young! Even better, stop & think of how much things cost even right before you had kids! I remember, as a kid, walking into the gas station while mom stood out at the pump. I would slap that $5 up on the counter like it was $100 & spout "$5 unleaded please!!" Don't even get me started on rolling up to the stop sign next to a seemingly 16 year old kid sitting in an escalade with a pink fuzzy steering wheel! My first car was a 1973 Ford LTD that I bought for $400 from an impound lot & when I got it home I found a 40oz. of cheap malt liquor under the driver seat. (True Story!)
5.) Alcohol. That's right, I said it! I don't know about you but when I was growing up my dad always had a beer in his hand after work. I grew up thinking that was manly and it's just somethings dad does. NOPE! It's because I was a little shit that drove him to drinking! Not really but that's something he would say now days if I asked him. I'm not talking slobber-knockered but a glass of wine for mom & a beer (or in my case glass of whiskey, beer is gross!!!) every now and then is MORE than warranted.
I took the day to hang out with the family and take a little walk down memory lane or as I now call it 'Holy Crap, I'm Fat & Old' Lane. So I'll leave you with some photos from my stint as a dad! Thanks so much for reading! Don't forget to check me out on Facebook & Twitter as well as adding your smiling face to the "Followers" List on the right ------>
***GIVE-A-WAY***
So I thought, since I hit the big 600 followers on my facebook page, I would give a way a stash of awesomeness! Just post a comment with something you have learned as a parent that no one warned you about before having kids (autistic or NT) & on Thursday I will pick a winner at random. The books in the stash are:
The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome
Parenting Your Asperger's Child
A Parent's Guid To Asperger Syndrom & High Functioning Autism
A Regular Guy: Growing Up With Autism
Disclaimer** As a photographer I much advise that these photos are better in print & have been scanned on** It hurts a bit to put poor quality photos on my blog :)
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| TAG! |
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| Best Part Of Any Day |
I LOVE that last photo! Very very nice. Okay here is something I learned... Never say NEVER! I used to be one of those folks who said my kid would never walk around with a snotty nose then I got a kid who was prone to sinus infections and well... I used to say I would never say some of the things I remember my mom saying to me like, "Stop crossing your eyes or else they will get stuck like that" and guess what... I actually said that the other day! YIKES! Never say never!
ReplyDeleteWhen my husband and I found out we were pregnant I thought 'piece of cake, I'm a teacher...I got this.' Shortly after his 3rd birthday I learned my son was different. I blamed myself then my husband for a while till I learned that while my son doesn't fit into the normal mold, he fits perfectly in our lives and he is exactly who he is supposed to be. That was when I learned to be Joel's mom...not Joel's mom the teacher.
ReplyDeleteI have learned that eating dirt builds up the immune system. We now make our meals around food allergies and a kid that won't eat red meat. I can make really good baked goods without dairy or eggs!!! My husband and my 8 year old have Asperger's and I had no idea until last summer. Kid was diagnosed first.
ReplyDeleteWhat my Aspie son has taught me is that I can laugh and cry at the same time! It's an amazing feeling to see the world through his eyes...he is so pure and beautiful. I listen like I have never listened before...and love more than I ever thought was possible!!
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