Archive | Offspring: ecstasy and agony RSS feed for this section

Things which are scary

by Mir on March 29, 2013 in Haven't been hit by lightning yet!, Offspring: ecstasy and agony, Oh look! Something furry!!, Ottomatic For the People

When I was about Chickie’s age, I was busy chewing my way through everything Stephen King ever wrote. The freakier and scarier, the better. This came up when I tried to convince Otto to watch Bates Motel with me the other night; he’s not so much a fan of a series that is fairly unapologetic about the amount of blood and gore, whereas I love it. I found myself explaining that—for me—there is catharsis in stories filled with terror. I get to experience all the fear/loathing/panic my body can handle WITHOUT having to relate it to my own particular life, and afterward, somehow my brain goes, “Well, then. We’re fine. Thank goodness none of that stuff was happening to US!” And I walk away happier.

Apparently that’s odd…? Like, most people read/see scary stuff and it just freaks them out? I’m now wondering if I am the only person who enjoys freaking myself out this way and feels fine, after. (Example: I watch Bates Motel, I can happily move on with my life when it’s over. But I have a real-life encounter like the last one I told you about and I’m disturbed and squicked out for days.

This tells me that fear is relative (duh). So here are a few other recent frightening things: (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 53 }

Minutiae for your Monday

by Mir on March 25, 2013 in It's not a regret, it's an "experience", Offspring: ecstasy and agony, Oh look! Something furry!!

I have a variety of not-long-enough-to-be-a-complete-post stories which are either 1) still interesting enough for sharing or 2) mind-numbingly dull but I don’t realize that and insist you must know, and therefore that shall result in this, a disjointed mishmash of unrelated things all in one place. It’s just like my junk drawer! Only with more words and fewer pen caps!! (Moral of this story: If you need a paperclip and a button, I’m your gal.)

There’s a slight twinge of remorse here that I don’t have a more exciting life or whatever, but on the other hand, I got up this morning and brought up Facebook and was immediately presented with several hundred of my closest friends (haaaaaaaa) complaining about snow. And I’m not doing that! This is going to be WAY more interesting (to me)!

Though—speaking of weather—we had a gray, rainy weekend, and nothing makes me adore my spoiled rotten dog more than a few days of rain. While her lovable traits are numerous, the fact that she will leap at the door as if bladder explosion is imminent (ZOMG MUST GO OUT NOW NOW NOW OPEN THE DOOR I’M DYING!!!), then will poke her head out onto the porch once the door is opened, listen to the rain for a moment, and flounce back inside, all, “Just kidding, did you know it was RAINING out there? I just had my hairs did. I’ll just flop down on your couch and cross my legs for a while and take a nap,” is endlessly hilarious to me. This is a dog who was picked up as a stray, clearly in terrible shape. What have we done over the last three+ years that now has her convinced she’s far too delicate to even get WET? (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 41 }

Poppin’ tags, suburban style

by Mir on March 21, 2013 in Offspring: ecstasy and agony, Retail Therapy

Know what Chickadee loves? Let’s take a brief quiz:

A) When I sing and dance along with Thrift Shop any time it comes on the radio.
B) When I refer to visiting our local Goodwill as “poppin’ tags.”
C) When I respond to any compliment on my attire—however slight—with a deep, booming, “I LOOK IN-CRED-UH-BULL!”
D) All of the above.
E) None of the above, and P.S., it’s not nice to taunt the teenager.

[Your quiz will not be graded. I am too busy cutting the plastic tag thingies off our latest haul. But here's Licorice's favorite video version as a reward for playing along.]

The thing is, I’ve been a thrift store shopper since I was a teen with babysitting money in my pocket. The fact that there’s now a popular song about it doesn’t automatically transform me into a hipster. (Especially when you consider that my most frequent purchases at Goodwill are t-shirts which still have their original store tags. I’m not after your “cool, old” stuff so much as I’m after the bargain on stuff I hope you don’t realize I got at Goodwill. Thank goodness I’m not telling the entire Internet that’s where I got my “expensive” clothes. Um. Oops?) Really the only thing that’s different now is that my kids think it’s cool instead of embarrassing. (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 30 }

Unexpected

by Mir on March 19, 2013 in Aspi(e)rations, Offspring: ecstasy and agony

One of my least favorite things to hear about kids on the autism spectrum is that they tend to lack an understanding of humor, and nearly everything “official” says they don’t understand sarcasm. And really, as much as I would love to believe that my own particular little snowflakes are just that much more special than the world, no, really, I know a LOT of Aspies who get sarcasm just fine.

Monkey has been… well… a little off, lately. If you ask him something you’re likely to get a snippy, snarky reply. With an extra helping of sarcasm. I don’t know what’s up. I suspect it may be puberty. Puberty is known for kind of being a bitch, y’know? And he appears to have the beginnings of a BAD case of it. Poor kid. You’d think they’d have a vaccine by now, or something.

Anyway, the other day he seemed kind of down, so I asked him if he was okay, and he kind of shrugged, so I told him that if there was anything he wanted to talk about—then, or some other time, either way—that I am a pretty good listener. He nodded, so I asked him if he wanted to talk right then, and he said yes.

Then he put a hand on my knee, and speaking quietly to his lap, said, “Mom, it’s just that…” (I leaned in, ready understand and try to help) “it’s…” (he looked up with a mournful expression) “it’s my time of the month,” he concluded, barely able to hang on to his guffaw until he reached the end, throwing his head back and collapsing in laughter.

Yeeeeahhhh. My poor Aspie, what with his lack of a sense of humor and understanding of nuance.

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 20 }

The house still smells like bacon

by Mir on March 18, 2013 in Offspring: ecstasy and agony, What do I do all day?

I keep waiting for something BIG and EXCITING to happen, possibly because I’m still in the pinch-me-I’m-dreaming phase of delicious normality. The reality is that life has been mundane and I am not complaining. I am just… perplexed. Surely one of us is about to come down with Ebola, or the next time we run out of milk and I drive to the store, my car will burst into flames. I mean, that’s… just sort of how my life goes, no?

Well—hang on, I have to knock on some wood, throw some salt over my shoulder, and perform a rather complicated ritual with the tchotchkes on my desk—right now, things go pretty boring. It rocks.

Of course, Monkey would tell you that things have NOT been boring. Things have been TERRIBLE because he has been DEPRIVED OF FRIEND TIME while Lemur’s family was sick. It was AWFUL and he nearly DIED of LONELINESS. Apparently none of the rest of us were interesting enough to keep him alive. (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 35 }

That’s what nerd said

by Mir on March 6, 2013 in Haven't been hit by lightning yet!, Offspring: ecstasy and agony

There’s quite a bit of sibling adjustment happening ’round here. The kids have missed each other so much—more than I think either of them realized—but both have grown somewhat used to being the only kid in the house, and so we are seeing some natural jockeying for position now that they’re together again.

For Monkey’s part, I think he has blossomed in his sister’s absence; he is the beta to her alpha, and with alpha absent, beta has discovered that he can monopolize the conversation if he feels like it (neat!). He is much more assertive now than he was when she left, and Chickadee finds herself a little puzzled as to why she cannot just steamroll over him at the dinner table the way she used to. She is also finding that he’s more entertaining than she remembers; whether this is due to absence making the heart grow fonder, Monkey now being a fellow teenager, or Chickie being more tolerant (or some combination thereof), I have no idea. But I’ll take it.

What has NOT changed is this family’s penchant for 1) being inappropriate and 2) torturing each other. Um. Yay? (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 37 }

Reunited and it feels so goooooood

by Mir on March 1, 2013 in It's not a regret, it's an "experience", Offspring: ecstasy and agony

I want to say stuff about how it’s going with Chickadee, because I am so happy, every minute, and still whispering to Otto, “Is this real?” and surreptitiously pinching myself because it’s so much better than I’d dared to hope for, having her back home.

I don’t want to say anything about how it’s going with Chickadee, because if I’ve learned anything over the last 18 months or so, it’s that the things you think you can control or anticipate as a parent can change in an instant, in terrible ways, in ways you never considered, in ways that make people judge your family for things which truly fall under the “there but for the grace of God go I” umbrella (though no one wants to believe it could happen to them), and I am afraid if I shout “IT’S AWESOME!” from the rooftops, the good will end.

But mostly I want to say stuff because it gets better. It got better. And for a long time, I didn’t know if it would. I don’t want to not celebrate out of fear of the unknown. This isn’t the end of the story, but it’s a damn fine middle and worthy of celebration. (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 77 }

I have missed this

by Mir on February 26, 2013 in Offspring: ecstasy and agony

Offered without further comment, other than to say this is but her most recent observation on the oft-amusing experience of reconnecting with all the kids she’s known for years, some of whom have… changed… in her absence:

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 20 }

Life is messy and wonderful

by Mir on February 25, 2013 in Offspring: ecstasy and agony, Woohoo!

You may have felt like I’ve kind of been half-assing it ’round here the last few weeks. (Alternatively, you may find it hilarious that I think you care that much. If you fall into this latter category, just skip ahead to the next paragraph.) Confession: I’ve been half-assing it here for the last few weeks. My heart and mind has been elsewhere, and some of the distraction has been emotional, but a lot of it has been logistical. There was just a lot to be done in a fairly short period of time, and I put my head down and tried to power through it, even while fighting back the fears that it wouldn’t work or it would work but there would be anger and unhappiness.

I’m pretty good with a mission, really. Give me a checklist and I’m a machine. Finish decluttering the house, CHECK. Contact the school, meet with the school, CHECK. Enroll with a new doctor, CHECK. Request records, CHECK. Gather an army, CHECK. Get advice, give updates, take a deep breath, CHECK CHECK CHECK.

Chickadee was supposed to come home for her school break on Friday. And she both did and didn’t.

She came home, but not for break. She’s home and she’s staying. (more…)

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 100 }

Tongue-tied

by Mir on February 4, 2013 in Offspring: ecstasy and agony

It’s very rare that I don’t know what to say. (Mind you, I don’t always say the right thing, but I can usually muster up SOMETHING. Even if it involves shoving my entire foot and half my leg into my mouth.) Maybe it’s because I’m getting older or maybe it’s just that I’m finally learning that whole “better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt” thing. I’m still happy to play the fool when times are easy. In tougher times, though, I’m not entirely sure what to do.

I spent the weekend mulling over these notions of how “love wins” and “love is enough.” I want to believe. Desperately. I’m working on it.

Step 1: Fill my aching, fearful heart with only the best ideas and memories. Do whatever I need to do to make that love tangible. So this morning I’m going back to one of my very favorite memories, savoring it, and—why not?—eating a grapefruit. Hopefully my sweet girl knows I wish I was sharing it with her.

  • email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Kirtsy
  • StumbleUpon
Comments { 26 }
« Newer Entries
Older Entries »
Design by LEAP