I am not a sports loving person. Anyone who knows me knows that, but I can see the value of letting your child participate in a team sport. They can learn the value of teamwork and make friends. My friend has a 7 year old son in football in Bridge City. His team has worked harder than any other group of seven year old children that I know of. Because of Hurricane Ike, several of the kids moved away, and many of those who stayed still have no homes. But those who stayed still show up to every practice, they play their hearts out at every game, and they are undefeated. This past Saturday they played against Lumberton. While they were playing (and winning) the Lumberton coaches were throwing a fit. They threw their clipboards in the air, they said how it was "convenient" that Bridge City was able to combine their teams into one to get their "dream team", and they called a group of 7 & 8 year old children "hurricane trash"! ! ! On top of that one of the Lumberton coaches physically jumped on one of the Bridge City coaches and started a brawl. Needless to say, the game was called immediately. The Bridge City team won, but just think of how they must have felt. Instead of being congratulated for being able to string together a team out of what was left of their players, they were made to feel like they were in the wrong somehow. And rather than being praised for their hard work under horrible circumstances, they were called trash. We learn a lot by how we are treated by those who love us, but we also learn a great deal by how we are treated by strangers. These are not the kind of people who should be teaching our children. I would rather be dealing with all of the hurricane aftermath that I am dealing with, than to have my 8 year old son have to associate with the people teaching "good" sportsmanship to Lumberton's 8 year old children.

This is a video of what Bridge City is going through.

   The thing about autism is, that it's not just a disease. You don't catch it, treat it, and get on with your life. It's like a living, breathing thing that you have to fight everyday. It doesn't matter how far you've come or how many years of work you've put in fighting. Autism is always there. It waits, like a thief, for that period of time when things are so crazy that you let your guard down. And it steals back every inch of progress that it can. 
   My son is a sweet, intelligent, funny, eight year old boy. Five years ago he couldn't even talk, but last year he had straight A's for the entire school year. This past summer we had him learning to swim, even though he is mildly afraid of water. He was even going down the street to his grandmother's house all by himself (with me watching out the door until he got there). We have worked our asses off to the point where he seemed so much like a "normal" kid that even the doctors were amazed.
    Then came the huricane.
    Now, he still talks, but he talks to himself a lot more than he used to (I mean really long conversations). Sometimes I ask him who he's talking to, and he tells me he's talking to himself in a tone that makes it sound like I just asked the dumbest question in the world. He won't listen to explainations of "no" anymore either, instead he immediately screams and goes into histerics when he doesn't get what he wants. And, not only does he not go off by himself, but he starts to whine if I am out of arm's reach. Literally. If I am on the couch, he wants to sit on me. If we are in the car, he cries that he wants his mommy when I'm in the front seat and he's in the back. You can forget the water thing too. To get him to take a bath (when I can get him to take a bath) I have to sit on the edge of the tub with my feet in the water.
   We've only been displaced for two months, but we've lost over a year's worth of progress. The thing about autism is, disruption equals distruction.

Greetings from the very edge of sanity.
It's not the end of the world, but you can see it from here.
   Things could be worse, I have a very good friend who is pregnant, has just had back surgery, and is living in a one room, second floor apartment with her husband and two children. I know things could be worse, but that doesn't mean they aren't really fucked up. 
   After losing over 80% of everything in my home including all of my furnature and most of my child's belongings, I'm stuck 300 miles from my home. By home, of course, I mean the area where I chose to live. I mean the area where I'm comfortable, where I have a support system, and where my son has his support system. I do have some family up here, and my dad has been really great, but this is not my home. My husband has to stay down there all week to work. Luckily there are people who care enough about us to let him crash on their couches. I only get to see him on the weekends. I got to go back for a few days this past weekend, and (other than having to stay on the 3rd floor of a crap motel with a broken elevator) it felt really good to be back. And then it was over. Here I am again. Stuck in my box. Waiting for things to get rebuilt, waiting to be able to live with my husband full-time again, waiting to be able to take my son to his doctors without having to pay hundreds of dollars to stay in a hotel. You see, we only have one car, so I have to go when Joey goes, and there are not enough couches for all of us. FEMA is so far of the opinion that we are just fine living this way indefinately. I'm thinking they are seriously insane if they think this is in any way healthy.
And, by the way, it is oh-my-god cold up here. I'm freezing my ass off here and they won't even let me smoke in the house. How is it that I'm paying $500 a month on a house I can't smoke in? Like I said, this is not my home! My home was cluttered and a little overfilled, but you could tell that a family lived there. There were pictures on the walls and shelves full of collections. Now, what is left of my belongings is packed away in boxes. So, It's pretty much like living in a storage building with a bed, tv, and internet. I know, I know things could be worse, but just because they could be worse, that doesn't mean they don't really suck how they are.

I'm oh so sick of the hurricanes. I love getting to see my family up here, but the drain on my finances is getting ridiculous. I have gone all the way to Texarkana, and it now appears that the storm is trying to follow me. What is up??? I want to go home, and snuggle up in my bed, and pretend that hurricanes never existed. Well, for the momennt, my family and I are out of harm's way. (Except for my husband who refused to leave.) And we're ok, just a litttle homesick. If could wiggle my nose and relocate the whole family to the East Coast with jobs and homes allready established, I totally would. Ah well, that's enough grouching from me for now. I hope everybody is safe and well. I love you all.
Love,
DiZzY