Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/when-joy-surprised-me/5026164/
*Artwork by the author can be found in the pdf version of this article.
I prepared myself for having a third roomie for the rest of my life. But over the last year, things for my legally blind and autistic child are developmentally popping. She’s tweening out all over the place. She has neurotypical friends for the first time! School was not a total disaster. And she is finally sleeping alone in her OWN bed in her OWN ROOM.
Her future is shifting and I have to stop myself from babying her. Making her spread her own butter on toast. Asking her to wipe her own mouth clean—instead of doing it for her. Allowing her to misbutton a shirt, or stumble on the sidewalk if she chooses to forego her vision cane.
Recently, she told me to stop helping her to the school bus stop for camp. No more guiding her over the uneven pavement or waiting with her for the bus. She is 11. She wants to do 11-year-old things.
And even though our neighborhood is a bit… seedy, public transportation is a powerful tool for people with garbage-eyes preventing them from driving. After all, the ultimate goal is Juniper confidently taking on the ...