The next day, Ronan was still not ready to head out into the world, so my daughter stayed home with him.  “Mom, go.  I can take care of him.  Get outside and enjoy the sunshine.  If I need you, I’ll call you, okay?”  Fiona is more than capable of watching Ronan, but I didn’t want her to miss out on the fun I was hoping to find outside.  Reassuring me one more time that she did not mind skipping that day’s activities, she said, “Mom, we’ll be okay.”  She knew that I was desperate to be out in the sun by the water and to breathe in the salty air.    

Not wasting a second more, I left.

Taking my youngest with me, we headed to one of the little parks that sits along with water.  Collecting sea shells and sea glass, we enjoyed every single minute we were away from the house.  Spending almost two whole hours by the seashore was the most refreshing break I’d had in a long time.  

Before heading back, I reflected on the changes we’ve had to make, not just for this vacation but over the last few years as well.  We’ve had to make quite a few - career changes, changes in where we’ve lived, changes to better the kids’ educational needs, changes in who we let provide medical treatment for Ronan.  We’ve made tons of changes.  Some have been easy to make.  Others have required a great amount of time and effort.  With everything we’ve done, and with everything we’re doing, we hope that changes will result in a positive outcome.  That hasn’t always been the case, but we work our hardest and strive for the best.

Pre-kids and pre-autism, I had never thought it would take this much work to make an enjoyable home away-from-home experience happen.  We don’t ever get to walk away from the daily grind like some other families may get to - autism and seizures don’t take vacations.  That was proven over and over again last week.  Despite that, we learned how to handle new frustrations.  We learned how to deal with different struggles we don’t normally see as well.  Other pluses came about, too.  Eventually, Ronan ended up enjoying the sunshine and a few seaside adventures.  He savored the extra Daddy time when my husband returned from that short business trip, too.  Ronan and all of his special needs - namely his dietary restrictions and most importantly wandering concerns - were well taken care of by several of our friends.  He may not be able to fully express how thankful he is to those who’ve opened their hearts and homes to us last week, but I know that he is grateful for them and for the time we’ve gotten to spend with them.  

As we get ready to head back home, Ronan’s siblings are recalling all the things we got to do while we were away.  They’ve, too, have cherished the time we got to spend together.  They’ve loved the activities we’ve gotten to do together.  We’ll all treasure the fun, family moments we’ve made even though some of this past week has required a great deal of work.  This past week has required us to be flexible and to be patient with each other.  Being flexible and patient - that’s also how we get through a typical week back home.  

Home or far away from home, it doesn’t matter where we are or that autism and seizures have followed us.  As long as we’re working together as a family, things always manage to work out.  And for that, I am grateful, too

Cathy Jameson is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism.