I love to write. I write plays, I write poetry, I write children’s books (and publish them too, big up Mummy over here!) and occasionally I like to write about my life. So this is what I’m attempting to do. To write about my life, and that’s impossible to do without sharing the world of ‘my world’. I am a Mother. To two gorgeous children, our daughter happens to be autistic. (The not so typical family blog name might have been a clue.) I don’t want it to define who we are as a family, but nevertheless it does become the focus of a large part of our world as we try to navigate the journey of parenthood. We struggle, it’s inevitable really as we learn to adapt around our children’s needs- note I wrote children, our son is equal to our daughter, as he should be and has needs as important as hers that demand to be listened and responded to. It can be easy to overlook them when dealing with her diagnosis. All of that being said, I haven’t started this blog to be a resource about autism, the spectrum is vast and no two people with autism are the same. I can’t be a voice for autistic people or for the experience of autistic families so I won’t pretend to be. I’d be a pretty piss poor expert, I’m sure. All I can do is put out our own experiences and if they resonate with anyone along the way then great! If it helps anyone feel a little less alone, incredible. The journey can be exhaustingly lonely and you often feel you are flying solo… I know there have been times that I have felt that I have no one to turn to. It shouldn’t be that way.
We have ups and downs, as do most families and we make mistakes along the way. I’ve pondered over joining the Mummy bloggers world for a while. Writing is cathartic. Somehow releasing our mishaps, worries, and indeed our triumphs through words typed hastily is like therapy, only without the price tag or long waiting list. Writing provides a lasting document, a record of our journey and it helps me digest my own thoughts and feelings too. So here goes. My first Mummy blog. Scrap that! Family blog- this is an attempt to document our journey along parenthood, autism, tantrums, meltdowns and growing up together as a family.
So what are the aims of it? To reflect, to share and to be accountable, I guess…
We have had a rocky road the last few years but I’m done with dwelling, no doubt other posts will go into more detail over where we’ve been to get to ‘here and now’, but I’m looking forward with this one.
2018 has brought our family some amazing achievements and laid the foundations for success and for happiness. It has been over a year since we had our daughter’s diagnosis and we are learning all the time. We have high hopes for the things we want to achieve in 2019. We want to do more as a family, experience more together and get a little braver in doing so. We want to achieve more professionally and through creative mediums. I don’t think the typical 9-5 life will ever be very ‘me’ so I’m thankful that I just about earn a living doing what I love. I love to work and want to do more of what I love!
We, most importantly, want to continue to bring happiness into our children’s lives. I’m so thankful that we have two happy children but we are fighting for it. Fighting for more, appropriate support for our daughter in her eduction, thankfully she enjoys school but there are several incidents in the week where she has had to be removed from lessons… because she can’t cope, because being a child with special needs in a class of 29 is tough, because there isn’t enough money in schools to go around… And then there’s our son. As the sibling of a child with extra needs it’s easy for him to be overshadowed and to be the brunt of her outbursts. Our lives revolve more around her needs than his at present and that’s something I’m seeking to change, if it’s possible. Both children deserve to be loved and valued equally, which they are but I’m making sure he KNOWS that.
This blog will seek to follow our journey over the next year, and possibly beyond as we chase happiness, adventures and our dreams together as a family.
Not So Typical Family 