Note: Cathy has written an "Insta" Sunday classic. She's invited us into her family's' world in a series of beautiful photos. I'm happy to see that she got a few days away. Goodness knows we need respite. Did you know we have an InstaGram account? We try to fly under the radar - you can find & follow us here. Instagram/AutismAges

By Cathy Jameson 

I am traveling again this weekend.  Invited to an exciting event, my youngest and I heading west for a few days.  We couldn’t wait to be away!  With our bags packed, we snuck out of the house at 6am on Thursday morning.

Years ago, Thursday was my writing day. With my work schedule and with the kids’ sports schedule, Thursday has become too busy for me to sit and write.  So, I take that day to brainstorm instead. 

Thinking about everything I’ve read and thinking about all that I heard in the news that week, I toss writing ideas around in my head.  This past week was full of news!  But my focus was always on this trip.  I’d be prepping not just to leave, but I’d be prepping for everything I was leaving behind. 

It would be a quick trip, but I was leaving Ronan, his routine, and his needs.  My husband, who took time off of work to stay home, could very easily handle the day-to-day things I do. But I wanted his, and Ronan’s, days to be smooth from start to finish.  That meant prepping meds, meals, laundry, and in-case-of-emergency files. 

Making sure they, too, would have the best three days ever, my brain didn’t have any extra space to do any brainstorming.  

While in flight, I remembered that I could pull up Google docs on my phone. In opening that, I saw a few old posts I’d drafted while traveling in the past. For those, once we were at our destination, I’d pull out my laptop, finish writing and then send the final draft to Kim. This time, I packed only the clothes I needed. The laptop was over a thousand miles away at my house.  Not wanting to have another rerun this weekend, I read through some of those old drafts. That’s when I saw my old post I’d written when Kim started an AofA Instagram page. What if I did a follow up post?  All my favorite photos are on this phone. If I can figure out how to add them to a Google doc, a new post could go up. Could I figure it out? While flying 25,000 feet over Texas?  On my fun little getaway?

I could! 

Thank goodness for some inspiration and also for technology!  

—-

These are pictures that tell our story.  Some days, it’s a sweet story.  Other days, struggles creep in. Throughout the story, though, there is love. With that, and with each other, that story continues. 

Thank you for letting me share it. 

Thank also you for being part of it. 

—-

Road trips.  We love them!  We love them until traffic backs up miles before the tunnel and miles after the tunnel. 

The long drive was worth it.  Sun!  Waves!  And an amazing little brother taking Ronan with him to enjoy the surf made for a great day.

Ronan’s favorite store is IKEA. One afternoon during that last beach vacation, Ronan pointed to the big blue building, indicating he wanted to go. The others got to pick fun outings, so of course, we took Ronan where he wanted to go also.

I snapped this after Ronan started to come on errands with me again. When we lost our full-time caregiver this summer, Ronan had to go out into the world with me.  He hated it.  But he managed to tolerate it again, too. 

Some days are full of success, but other days?  Well, those days have us sitting in parking lots waiting for the others.  Ronan would not go into church with us this day.  I knew not to push him. So we spent the quiet hour listening to music waiting for the family to find us when church was over.

Ronan’s been sleeping a lot more lately.  He naps longer, and last month, he napped almost every day.  As we tiptoe into the cooler weather, I’ll be curious if he sleeps even more. 

With how tired he gets, we make sure to bring the adaptive stroller when we go out.  This day, we were cheering for one of Ronan’s sisters. While waiting for her athletic event to end, he and I strolled through a park. I love it when the sun is just so brilliantly bright. It’s such a neat backdrop.  

Speaking of that sun, this photo is one of my absolute favorites.  

When I try to get photos of Ronan, I take between 10-20 of them in one sitting.  That’s because he either moves too much, or he looks away just as I take the picture. I’ll scroll through them and save the best one, like those above. I’m glad I have them, because they sure helped me in a pinch while I was away this weekend. 

Cathy Jameson is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism. 

The Wuhan Cover-Up: And the Terrifying Bioweapons Arms Race (Children’s Health Defense) 

“Gain-of-function” experiments are often conducted to deliberately develop highly virulent, easily transmissible pathogens for the stated purpose of developing preemptive vaccines for animal viruses before they jump to humans. More insidious is the “dual use” nature of this research, specifically directed toward bioweapons development. The Wuhan Cover-Up pulls back the curtain on how the US government's increase in biosecurity spending after the 2001 terror attacks set in motion a plan to transform the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under the direction of Dr. Anthony Fauci, into a de facto Defense Department agency.

Join us in congratulating Dr. Brian Hooker and Robert Kennedy, Jr. and the Children's Health Defense imprint on the huge news that Vax Unvax Let The Science Speak was #11 on the New York Times non-fiction best sellers list this week.  This is important because it tells those who feel they shouldn't question science, "Hey, it's OK to read, and learn and make your own decisions."  It's currently 124 on ALL of Amazon books.  Buy a copy HERE