It's all a little crazy...

Life has forced autism into the background, as both work and family conspire to eat up our very short days.

And interestingly, Billy has risen to the occasion in a very interesting way.

We are out of town. We are at the beach. We have limited internet access.

Billy loves the variety of locations, n a very un-autistic way. He does rue leaving a place...'I wish we were back at Nanna's house...', 'I wish we were at the lighthouse again...'. But beyond that, he's eating up the new experiences.

We struggle with family members who don't see him very often saying helpful things like, 'Of course a little boy should have some ice cream' (because we are evil nasty parents who have concocted the mega colon that has sent him to hospital in the past... who needs to learn about stuff and make change... give the kid some ice cream for crying out loud). They also like to offer constructive advice like 'If he doesn't like coughing he'd just better get used to it quick smart. People have to cough.' (Of course, an adult's need to cough is more important. Why expect the disabled kiddy to have an opinion?)

But, you know... all in all... he's doing OK. I have learned to resist the urge to punch people (they are advancing in age, it's hardly a fair fight) and they have learned to ignore my pinched mouth.

The beach is a whole other issue. Twelve months ago, we couldn't pay Billy to hit the beach before sunset. Even then, he took some convincing. Now his first words are, 'Can I go boogie boarding now?' Often, it's in the murky light of pre-dawn, and in those instances, I am indeed a nasty parent who refuses his requests. And it's hard because he's often wearing his board shorts endearingly backwards (having dressed himself) and has had a stab at applying sunscreen as well.

He runs, he dances, he body surfs (in a manner of speaking). He climbs rocks, and sails around on his boogie board/skim board/beach limo hauled by an ever more buff Silent Partner (have you ever tried to pull one of those things along the sand? It's not easy).

Something wonderfully light and relaxed has taken Billy over. And whatever it is, I hope it doesn't disappear any time soon. I may have to gaffer tape him all over to seal in the beach bum after we get back to the 'big smoke'.

And finally, the internet access. Interesting... Billy loves YouTube. Almost as much as he loves feet. Once, those two worlds collided (have I mentioned this before...? I'll remind you, either way - do not let your child Google 'Lady Feet Bed' without safe search turned on.)

But on the road, he has accepted that sometimes there's internet, sometimes there's not. When I say accepted, I use the term loosely. It's not a wrinkle-free acceptance, but it's there. It may make life cheaper. Gotta love that value.

And speaking of limited internet access... best I sign off before I-