Hey y’all, this is the 5th of my repostings for April, Autism Awareness Month.

This was a funny night.  It kind of incapsulates — if that is possible — the experience of having him for a son…a son who has autism.

He is so funny.  Many times predictable but other times, not so predictable.

It is not boring, being his mom.

 

Originally published June 16, 2011.

 

The Definition of Perfunctory

Tonight, we went for our weekly dinner at the church’s parish hall. We ate grilled meats and chips and summery foods. After the meal and a little singing, we split into groups. The young kids left to go to classes and the older youth and adults remained together for a lecture and discussion session.

I really like getting together with folks from church in the middle of the week. In the church of my girlhood, we had a Wednesday night fellowship supper. I remember really liking that, too.

So, back to tonight.

My two oldest boys stayed with me for the adult/youth session. We watched a video and then had a question and answer session.

Now, typically,  this is when my oldest son, James, will tend to zone out. He doesn’t listen to the video. He doesn’t listen to the discussion. He goes to Jamesey world inside his head and he stays put there until I reel him back to reality.

(Reeling him back to reality is my #1 job.  I should put it in the “occupation” blank when I fill out a form.)

So, today, I told him that I wanted him to pay attention and have one relevant thing to write down after the video and discussion were over.  

We watched the video.  

The discussion was begun.

The pens and paper were passed around.

James took both pen and paper,  busily wrote for a minute and then put the cap on his pen.

Though the class was not over, he decided to visit the bathroom.

He handed his piece of paper to me as he passed.

Just so you know, the message of the video and discussion had been about Resurrection and Hope.

James had written, “God, you’re the greatest”.

My son Nathan and I read it as James ambled away. We tried not to laugh too hard.

What a way to cover it all. He found a way to not listen and still write something to get him off the hook.

What a buster.