Jonah's Journey

give kisses!

Last night my father had my grandmother up to his house for dinner, and afterward they came here and brought us some of the food. (Dad used to want us all to drive up to his house, until that time he witnessed Jonah's complete freakout and realized how hard it really can be for us to take him places!) My grandmother is "up" right now (she is bipolar) and looked just beautiful in a peaches-n-cream summer outfit, her shoulder-length white hair up in a barette/bow, her makeup tastefully done, clutching her summer-white beaded purse, all smiling and talking right over everyone like always. She is 91 and didn't look a day over, oh, maybe 75.

When they left, Jonah gave his grandfather and great-grandmother kisses. Tears came to my eyes -- before Jonah was diagnosed with autism, I had the common misconception that autistic folk want little or nothing to do with people -- that they don't even really understand what's going on around them. Jonah, though, was loving, affectionate, and huggy right from the start -- so even when it became apparent that something was going on with him, I confidently crossed autism off my mental list of possibilities. Oh, the arrogance! How little I knew.

But last night, when Andy and I said "Give pa kisses! Give grandma kisses!", he not only understood us but also was happy to give those kisses. It made me so proud, really thrilled. He may not speak with words, but our son definitely can communicate.



"Whenever I'm caught between two evils, I take the one I've never tried."
         ~ Mae West (1892 - 1980)

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