Orange and Black
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on October 31, 2011
Halloween has never been our favorite holiday.
Let me count the ways. Clay has little tolerance for costumes, especially masks and hats. Due to his dietary issues, he can’t eat most of the candy that he is offered. Decorations have a short shelf life with Mr. Busy Hands in the house. And, because of the peculiar positioning of our neighborhood between two busy roads with no sidewalks, no trick or treaters ever darken our door.
We had a few good years early on with Clay dressed as either the Cat in the Hat or a chef, but were not unhappy when he grew out of a holiday that mostly brought agitation combined with a sugar high.
This year, a local autism organization organized a Halloween party at a Knights of Columbus hall. It promised to be Clay friendly, so we asked the little fellow if he wanted to go.
“sure,” he typed on his keyboard. Read the rest of this entry »
A ‘Whatever’ Weekend
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on October 12, 2011
When our respite sitter offered to stay with Clay overnight so my wife and I could get away, we said, “Wow.” Then we said, “We’ll have to think about that.”
To give this some perspective, the last time we were away together—just the two of us—was about nine years ago. Long enough that we aren’t exactly sure of the year. Long enough that we weren’t even thinking of the possibility of doing it again.
So, we thought about it.
We knew we had accumulated a good number of back hours—close to 26—so we could go away for one night. (Paying a sitter for that many hours was out of the question.) We also knew our anniversary was coming up. But how would Clay do with us away overnight for the first time in his memory? Read the rest of this entry »
Loose Ends
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life, Silly Behaviors on October 7, 2011
Back in my days as a journalist, it always nagged at me that there was so little follow-up, so little closure. I would cover an event or write a feature article about an interesting person and his or her work, but that would be the end of it. I rarely got the chance to see how things played out. With that in mind, I present the following list of updates to previous posts on this blog:
Visiting predators. The two black vultures that took up residence in our garage this past summer have flown the coop. I needed to store some tomato cages in the garage loft a few weeks back (yes, we keep our tomatoes behind bars; otherwise they might run away). I was pretty sure the vultures had gone (we hadn’t seen them for a couple of weeks), but I banged loudly on the steps a few times on my way up. Some things you just know instinctively. You don’t want to get in-between a mother grizzly and her cubs, you don’t want to eat the creamed corn at the Old Country Buffet and you don’t want to surprise vultures in an enclosed space. No need to push the envelope on that stuff. They weren’t up there. As we suspected, they had been nesting in the hay bin, a cozy spot that is now filled with vulture feathers. We will most likely board up the broken windows they used to enter the garage this past spring, but that is a decision that has not yet been made. Read the rest of this entry »
Crumbly Dreams
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life, Silly Behaviors on September 23, 2011
When Clay was just a wee lad—kindergarten age—he developed an unlikely obsession with a local line of snackfoods.
Could have been because his gluten-free/dairy-free diet prohibited these tempting munchies. Or maybe it was his fascination with brand names at the time. Whatever the reason, he couldn’t get enough of the world of Tastykake.
When coming home from visiting my family we had to detour to a lot behind a car dealership where a row of old Tastykake trucks stood waiting to be sold. “The Tastykake graveyard,” we called it, and Clay never failed to get a kick out of spying those beat-up relics in need of a home. Read the rest of this entry »
In Search Of …
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life, Silly Behaviors on September 19, 2011
A Sunday afternoon near the end of summer, and we set off once again in search of the elusive petting zoo.
Clay’s love of farm animals—horses, goats, sheep—cropped up a few summers back and has led to us checking out the local Grange Fair, a nearby farm, horseback riding lessons. We are always on the look out for a chance for the little guy to interact with animals. Rumor had it they operate a petting zoo at one of the local nurseries, so we hopped into the bat mobile to investigate.
The big barn and extensive grounds seemed promising as we drove to the parking lot in the rear. While Clay and I went searching, my silly wife went inside to ask. Women. So, it turns out the petting zoo is more of a rental. The animals are shipped from a farm for special events at the nursery. No special events today. Read the rest of this entry »
Two Weeks
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Daily Life on September 16, 2011
Every other Thursday, the cleaning service arrives.
We cleaned the house ourselves for a lot of years, but gradually came to realize that wasn’t working for anyone. Trying to clean when Clay is at home is like trying to rake leaves during a hurricane. In the end, the hurricane is going to win and you are going to feel silly for even trying.
If you can’t clean when Clay is home, that means you have to clean during the precious quiet hours when he is at school or camp. Not an option. Those hours are gold. As untouchable as the Crown Jewels under armed guard in the Tower of London.
So, the cleaning service comes. An investment in sanity. There are four, sometimes five, chattering ladies, and they sweep through the house in a little over an hour, while the dog and I huddle in my upstairs office. Read the rest of this entry »
So Peaceful
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on September 5, 2011
While Clay’s Mom and older brother went to visit Clay’s grandpa on Labor Day, he and I decided to take a walk in a nearby nature center before the rain hit.
We went straight to a spot where you can look out on the reservoir, and sat for awhile, each lost in his own thoughts as another summer comes to an end. Read the rest of this entry »
Grange Rover
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on August 25, 2011
A pygmy goat welcomes us to the fair
Last year, when we took Clay to the local Grange fair, we planned the trip a little better. Fresh batteries in the camera? Check. Notebook and pen? Check. Out the door by 10 a.m. to avoid the heat and, more importantly, the crowds? Check.
This year, not so much.
It was past noon by the time we hit the fair this past Saturday. Those few hours combined with the heavy rains the day before, made for crowded walkways and long lines for food. It was hot and muddy and the batteries in our camera ran out as soon as I tried to take the first picture. (Fortunately, my cell phone served as a backup.) Read the rest of this entry »
Happy to Be With You
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life on August 18, 2011
Clay and Emily
It has been a bit of a funky summer for the little guy. He spent five weeks at his school and three weeks at camp (plus, he went to camp every Friday). Hard to tell how he felt about that schedule, or the summer in general.
One clue came last Friday, when Clay and his fellow campers were putting on a play at a local elementary school for the parents, something the camp does at the end of every summer. I was running late, and immediately bumped into Clay and his counselor, Emily, in the lobby as they walked laps around the school, waiting for Clay’s turn in the spotlight.
Last summer, on a day when Clay was not feeling well, Emily sent us an email about how the little guy had cemented her career choice in special education. So, it was great to find out Emily was working with him again this summer, and she was clearly happy to be assigned to Clay. Read the rest of this entry »
Musical Sofas
Posted by Larry Blumenthal in Communicating, Daily Life, Silly Behaviors on August 12, 2011
The Spoils of Victory
The excessive heat this summer has led to an unexpected armageddon at our house. A battle royale between man and beast. An epic drama rivaling the Cuban missile crisis and the standoff in the Middle East combined.
Am I overstating the situation? Decide for yourself.
I have to begin by explaining that we don’t have central air conditioning. One searing August after we first moved in and it seemed you could see the heat shimmer off our kitchen floor, we decided to get an estimate. When it arrived we fought off the nausea, politely said, “We’ll have to think about it” and bought three window units, instead. When my father-in-law’s aunt passed away several years back we inherited a fourth, an ancient monstrosity that sounds like a truck struggling up a steep incline and may have been built in Thomas Edison’s lab. I’m not sure who wired the electricity in our house but I don’t believe he had all of his vision or the use of both arms because it is a tad, how shall I say, unbalanced. I blew out an outlet in the upstairs bathroom once and found that the outside lights, the garbage disposal and a closet in the attic are on the same Rubik’s cube of a circuit. Read the rest of this entry »
Life With Clay 