My mom says, I'm no Einstein

Picture it: Nebraska 1992. I am struggling in my Algebra class.....and parent teacher conferences are coming up. My mother attends and has a very interesting conversation with my teacher.

He informs her that I am struggling (which she knew). Then basically out of nowhere he tells my mother that  "Kristi thinks like Einstein did." My mother told him, "She's failing algebra. She's no Einstein." Which makes me laugh to this day. Of course, I am no Einstein. But, I don't think that's what the teacher was trying to say. It was a weird conversation, almost a riddle, that would take me over 20 years to figure out. I'm sure it wouldn't have taken Einstein nearly that long;D

I know that when I got stressed out in my math courses I would zone out. My teacher observed that.  Sometimes I would even hum to myself and tap my pencil in different beats. (Clearly like Einstein with his fancy violin when he got stuck on a problem;D ) I remember once the boy sitting in front of me, told me to "Knock it off." I snapped out of my trance immediately. But, I had no idea why I was doing it. I'm sure my teacher observed those incidents as well.

I'm not one who blindly believes that Einstein, Vangogh, Twain, Jefferson, Edison, Mozart, Darwin, Newton, Ford, Dickenson, Beethoven, were autistic. It can't be proven either way. So I really don't entertain the idea much.  However, there are several media graphics that feed this belief. I'm sure you have seen some of them. The creators of these graphics have good intentions and I get it.  This one is available at cafepress.com if you are interested.

I understand the desire to believe that our children are amongst the elite:)  And that autism has always been around and it's not because you had an energy drink during your pregnancy. Hell you can't prove that it hasn't always been around. And it's inspiring to think that autism made the world a more interesting and beautiful place. We don't know for certain if autism played a role in the development of physics, beautiful works of art or famous symphonies. But, I do believe that my children have added beauty to our small part of the world.


While I haven't totally bought into the famous historical figures being on the spectrum idea. I have wondered if I am. I think its the same way with many parents of ASD children. I had some educational struggles that started when I was young.

And when I reflect on my sensory issues, some of which I still have to this day, I am always comforted. I definitely fall into the reasoning of, "I was like that when I was a kid too. And I am fine now."  My children are obviously dealing with a lot more than what I had to. But, they have made up more ground than I ever did.


Am I autistic? Probably not. So I'm not jumping on that bandwagon.......even if its full of some of the greatest minds ever:D

Protecting those we love

 We went to the lake on Saturday. I love going in September because there isn't much in the way of crowds. In fact we were the only ones there for almost an hour. Then a birthday party showed up. Five little girls piled out of SUV, then they ran towards the beach. The adults arms full of balloons and boxes of food stationed themselves at the picnic tables at the other end of the beach. And before we knew it the girls were far away from their adults and were playing right next to us. Even though they could have used the other side of the beach. They seemed to have no intention of leaving. And why would they? We are awesome:) One of the little girls was throwing sand into the water. Seeker was sitting in a tub in the water enjoying the view. 

When it happened. The little girl threw another handful of sand. And a little bit of sand got close to Seeker. He didn't even notice it. But Goofball did. And little brother wasn't having it. Goofball started yelling, "What are you doing to my brother?" "Don't you hurt him." I assured him that the little girl didn't mean for that to happen. I showed him that she was trying to throw further away from him now. But, Goofball kept his eyes on them the rest of the time we were there. He told me he didn't want anything to happen to his brother. It was precious. Even though he yelled and acted incredibly distrustful of these girls. I don't think I have had a prouder moment as a parent. This was huge for us! Seeker has strained relationships with his siblings b/c of his issues. Even his high functioning ASD sister has a hard time understanding him sometimes. 

But, this situation gave me so much hope for what kind of brother Goofball will be when he is an adult. I want him to be the type of brother that will get in someones face if they mess with his sister or brother:) His brother and sister NEED and DESERVE someone who is going to watch out for them when my husband and I are gone.

To the ....(insert whomever I want to blog about)

Dear so and so,

I don't know you. You don't know me. But, as you struggled/modeled appropriate social standards/& or were a descent human being, you inspired me. I had questioned if there was good left in the world until I saw you that day. Blah blah blah


I could have come to you directly and told you about this revelation. But, instead I chose to blog about it. Because I'm a blogger now, and its what I do.

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Update: For some unknown reason this post didn't go viral. I don't get it. Sure I wasn't long winded like some bloggers who have used this format. But, I followed the fucking format;D So I made this ecard to express my disappointment (in HuffPost);D