I am a single parent with a teenager on the autism spectrum and travel is one of my passions. Travel is a wonderful, educational experience for typical children, and my hunch that Julia would learn and grow with travel experiences was rewarded last summer in Italy. So, I am on a mission to teach Julia about the world—one trip at a time!
The week has completely run away from me and now we are traveling in three ( yes, 3! Eek!) days. So, before traveling I am posting pictures from our NYC visit and from the Penguin Project production. And then I’ll get back to travel prep.
Favs from MOMA:
8 Weeks until we go ‘down under’! Down under what? I have to look that up. Eight weeks before we go to Australia! The count down has begun in earnest!
And so have the tasks.
Julia had the day off on Friday, so we went to the post officer and sent in the documents for her new passport. This time it is an adult passport (her first) and valid for 10 years. Her current passport, a kid’s edition which is good for only 5 years (and yet costs the same), expires a week after we return from Australia. I asked the postal clerk why a passport must be valid for six months after a planned trip out of the country. She responded directly and cheerfully, “Just in case of a terrorist attack. You could need to stay somewhere for awhile.” I may have lost just a bit of color in my cheeks. And that’s what you get for asking questions! Continue reading
Sometime in February, I decided that we would be going to Australia this summer. I have both a friend and cousins in Sydney. I nailed down timing—Julia’s spring extracurricular, the Penguin Project, has a closing night of June 24. Cheer (crossing my fingers that the new coach will allow Julia on the team) begins around August 1. With those date in mind, I bought Quantas tickets in the middle of March. Unfortunately, I bought them two weeks before a sale and paid a few hundred bucks more, proving that there is no way to insure the best price for plane tickets. There is a recommended time frame in which to buy international tickets and I was right there. I had seen a sale around Christmas but I wasn’t ready to commit. There was no way of knowing that Quantas would have another sale. I wonder if a travel agent could have done better? Continue reading
Ringing in a new year in what might be considered the most classic, but for me the least characteristic way—on a crowded dance floor gyrating with a throng of strangers in party hats and noise makers to a band playing the ancient music covered by high school bands in the late 60’s (no complaints about the music. It was very delightful). Before the parties heated up, Cheshire and I walked around an upper deck in the cool night air. A few stars were out, we could watch the quiet dark sea and the wake made by our boat. It was my favorite part of the evening, perhaps of the cruise. Minutes before midnight, we joined the throng dancing. Twenty seconds before midnight we began counting down as if this was a novel experience. At midnight, music played, people cheered, hugged and kissed, balloons, streamers and confetti fell from 10 floors above. In a minute, we we stood knee deep in balloons and streamers. It was almost strangely satisfying. It was as I had always imagined. Continue reading
We embarked on Thursday. Our hotel was less than 1.5 miles from the dock and so we arrived by foot, each of us with back pack and pulling our carry on bag. Once again, Autism on the Seas met us at the first check in point and moved us through lines and crowds. There is something wonderfully familiar and comfortable about this cruise. The ship is not configured in the same way but most of the same elements are there, the mental maps are so much easier. Julia and I were at ease much sooner and we were able to clue Cheshire in.
It is great having Cheshire with us. A second person to interact with and boss Julia around, a lovely companion for me to enjoy. Last cruise, julia and I had a wheel chair accessible cabin. We booked late and some of those rooms had been released. Our cabin this time is standard and a lot narrower. We have a window and not a balcony. I miss the ability to be outside immediately and the balcony provides a few extra feet but we manage the tight space well. I do find myself constantly straightening and putting away out stuff. Clutter happens fast.
Sunrise over water- a bay?- in Tampa. Not an extraordinary feat consider how little day light there is this time of year. A hotel on the water, the convention center, cars and trucks dot the visible highways and a lone kayaker paddles across the bay. Something nicely propitious about the sighting. We are in the tourist center, our driver from last night told us. Continue reading
A reminder pops up on my laptop from Calendar: Christmas Eve. Obviously, Apple’s Calendar is not able to look around this house. Yet. Something to be grateful for in a small way.
Facebook reminds me of all those past Christmas Eve postings—parts of cards, pictures in NYC with Cheshire and Julia, silly pictures of Cheshire’s friends here to support her through rough times, pictures of Julia in full Hogwarts regalia in Florida at the Wizarding World during our Christmas with the Mahoney’s (without our favorite Mahoney’s), trees and stockings and kind Santas who listened to Julia’s sometimes incoherent rambling wish lists. One post from December 24, 2010, offers the beginning of what has been seven years of strained celebrations:
Julia and I are bedded down in Brooklyn. We are remaking Christmas. In a few years it will be ours again. Peace and love to my facebook comrades. Hug your partners and parents and friends and kids while they are close.
House in the Woods. Saturday after lunch. Sitting on the porch of the activity building, looking out at a lovely blue lake surrounded by trees not quite ready to give up their green, listening to the teens on retreat. Julia is one of those teens. Continue reading
Three days home and feeling a bit more human. The end of our summer travels were crazy mainly because I fell prey to a nasty flu bug the Tuesday of our Camp Awesum week and spent the rest of the week sleeping as much as I could. We did not get to do some of my favorite things, especially walking the labyrinth, being out on the water in some sort of boat, and doing the night hike. Julia, however, did get to indulge in most of her favorite activities and generally had a good time.
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Camp Awesum. Monday morning.
Independence. Julia wants it. I think she is ready for some. The question is always how to arrange it and keep her safe. An opportunity at camp has arisen.
There is coffee in the mornings starting at 6:30, breakfast is not until 8:30. I made it down for coffee at 7:30. Before I left the cabin, I told Julia, mostly asleep, that I would telephone her. Hopefully, she will wake up, get out of bed and start getting dressed.
I called, explained what I wanted and she wanted to meet me by the beach, dressed and ready for breakfast. T minus 15 minutes. Continue reading
Chasing Joy 