Upside Mum

Hi everyone, thanks for all of the recent follows.

Please pop on over and like my new blog  Upside Mum

This new blog is where updated posts will be – Following on from my post A rose by any other name I decided to change my blog name to fit a little better with what i now write about. It’s mainly the same as this one but as it’s evolved a little since the beginning I felt the name had to as well.

Thanks for reading, I hope you join me on my new blog and you can also:

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Follow My New Blog Please

Hi everyone, following on from my previous post, could everyone please like my new blog page? This is where future posts will be made.

I think followers were carried over in the switch but if you could check I would be really grateful. Also, to new followers, please like the new site here:

Upside Mum

 
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A rose by any other name…

I’m changing my name! Ok not me, literally but I’m changing the name of the blog. My wee blog and its name have served me well so far and I really appreciate all of the follows, likes and comments. Thanks everyone. I hope you will all continue to follow me under my new name. The content will be still be the same and the layout, at least for now, will still be similar. I have just been having a think about things lately. About our lives, our family, the purpose of the blog and what it means for us and says about us.

Follow or read my new blog here: Upside Mum

When I started blogging it was purely to share my thoughts and experiences of autism. I think as it has progressed, it has become a bit more than this. It’s more a story of our lives and my thoughts/feelings. My purpose has always been for me to try to find the positive in things and learn lessons from what has gone on. Where I am definitely in awe of my son and his personality and progress in spite of his difficulties, I don’t want autism to be what defines him, or us. Yes autism has a big impact on us and what we do, but it’s not what I want our whole lives to be about.

This is not because I have an issue with the label or that I am in some way ashamed of it. Anyone who knows me knows that I am extremely proud of my family and what they all achieve. I regularly highlight issues associated with autism and its effects. I celebrate the good and learn from the not so good. Life is full of ups and downs, it’s hard, but it’s also rewarding and full of moments that make it all worthwhile. Therefore I see myself as a person who prefers to try to look on the bright side, the upside, and that’s why I’ve chosen this as my new name.

Everyone needs a makeover or fresh start once in a while, this is mine. I really hope that you will all stick with me in my next chapter of my blogging life and continue to lend me the wonderful support you have shown so far. It really has helped me to pick myself up after the hard days and feel good about the better ones.

Thank you!

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Living Arrows #3

It’s been a rather wet week here, so we haven’t gotten out much. On the one trip to the park we managed to make, J was more keen to climb up the slide than to slide down it. When I eventually managed to get him to do it, alongside his baby sister, he was very pleased with himself. He even gave himself a clap.

W really enjoyed our visit, despite the grey sky and threatening rain. She loved the slide. She also had a great time playing in the sand with B and Gran. I love it when she tries to walk and forgets she can’t quite do it yet. She gets so excited!

I just wish the rain would go away so that we can venture a bit further afield!

(My photos were just taken on my iPhone camera and whilst on the move. Still working on my composition and stuff too.)

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Be kind, always

I have read so many sad and tragic stories in the news recently. There seems to be death and destruction everywhere. I have to admit it’s been getting me down lately.  There are some of the stories I just can’t seem to get out of my head though. Of course attacks like in Turkey, France, Germany, Belgium and across many countries throughout the world; the ongoing wars in many countries and the oppression of people is so terrible and hard to comprehend. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are some very bad people in the world. I also think there are some impressionable and sometimes vulnerable people, who are indoctrinated and brainwashed into thinking a certain way and some people who are most likely mentally ill. This doesn’t change what they’ve done or make the families feel any better though.

The stories I have found stuck with me most over the past few days, were the more local ones; related to the deaths of children in tragic circumstances while they were playing, going on holiday or enjoying days out with their families or friends. The circumstances themselves are upsetting and tragic enough; families shattered in an instant because of some unforeseen event or circumstance. I can’t (and don’t ever want to) begin to imagine how these families feel. What I find all the more heartbreaking is the reaction of certain other people.

When the familiar becomes unfamiliar

Flashing back to my first blog post to celebrate 50 likes on Facebook, 100 followers on Twitter and 40 WordPress followers too. Thanks everyone!

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Upside Mum

As a family we regularly visit our local Heritage museum. It’s a fantastic place in most types of weather. It has lots of outdoor space, a spacious indoor museum area, a playground (with the ever-important swings), a path through the woods, a tram, a canal and most importantly – trains! Our boys love it here. In fact, it’s probably one of J’s favourite places.

Our last visit started off as normal with a happy dash for the gates when we got out of the car. J then started off in the direction of the tram line, which he loves to walk alongside (and across/on). We began our usual circuit of the grounds with J happliy running on ahead of us and looking back with glee to check that we were following on behind. Little did we know of the drama that lay ahead. There was a special event on in…

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Having a bad day?

Mainly my posts are about J and how he’s doing; his progress, achievements and lessons we’ve learned along the way. I try to look for the positives, even amongst the bad experiences. I also thought it would be good to share today’s experience. I realised my posts highlight difficulties but mainly celebrate how we overcame it or what we learned from it. I decided it might also be good to admit that sometimes this is a very hard thing to do. Sometimes I have to try extremely hard to see the up side of some things and to feel good about any part of some days we’ve had. Sometimes I fail to see these positives at all. When this happens I don’t particularly like to talk about it; preferring to ignore it and try to just move on. Lately I’ve decided this isn’t healthy. I need to face the bad with the good and find a way to keep going in spite of these experiences. So, if the good stories are all you like to read please give up now, as this one is not only bad but it’s ugly!

This guy

I know my blog is mostly about autism and so mainly J but this wee guy deserves a mention too. My wee B (sometimes in more ways than one 😜) Sometimes he’s my sanity and other times he drives me insane! He’s only four years old and already in his young life he’s had to come to terms with and understand more than some people will ever have to. He’s an autism sibling. If you read any articles, information or research they will tell you that this is hard. We try our best to limit this for him and to make his life as ‘normal’ as possible but he’s always going to be affected by it in some way. J is after all his big brother. Sometimes if I think about it too deeply it makes me really sad for B. As great as J is and as hard as he tries, he’s never really going to be what most people think of as a big brother. He doesn’t really know how to look after B or show him how to do new things. Of course, B is very capable and would probably just tell J that he knew how to do it anyway. This doesn’t mean he’s not missing out though. He’s never known any different and hasn’t seen what he’s missing, which is good I suppose, but I know and sometimes it hurts.

Garden fun in the sun

We live in Scotland so there can be times when we go days (sometimes weeks) without seeing any hint of sunshine☀️ The school holidays here start at the end of June and to be honest, I think it would be better if they started a couple of weeks later. It always seems to rain here for at least the first week in July! Yesterday it was slightly cloudy but at least it stayed dry and warm, meaning the kids could get back outside to play and burn of some of their endless energy! There’s little worse than a very active five year old with ASD and cabin fever.

Today the sun is out in full force and as soon as they got up, before they even got dressed, my boys headed off out into the garden. We are lucky to have a good-sized garden with lots of room for all of their toys and for them to run or roam around in. Parks and beaches become so crowded during the holidays when the weather is nice and it can be a bit overwhelming for J at times.

Airport Awareness

As it’s holiday time many people will be jetting off to sunnier skies and new destinations. We have not yet been brave enough to venture onto a plane with J. There are just too many unknown variables. How will he react to waiting around in the airport? Will the small space in the seat in the plane be too restricting? Will the noises the plane makes be distressing for him? Will he have trouble with his ears? How will we keep him amused for the duration of the flight? I don’t think he would be allowed to run up and down the aisles for several hours and he certainly wouldn’t be allowed to open the door to go for a wee stroll. Maybe this is something we will consider when he’s a bit older and can perhaps be reasoned with in some manner.

For now