A Boy Of Many Colors.

I want to tell you a story, those who read this. A story about a boy who opened my eyes to a whole new world. A world that I'm not special enough to see.

His name is Logan.

Logan has Autism.

I've posted about him before, and his mom (Kristy). Their whole family is amazing, and have welcomed me into it with open arms and Bud Lights open.

Logan's journey hasn't been the easiest, nor has it been the hardest. And though it may be easy for you to say "Oh, gosh. Autism? I don't know how I could handle my kid going through that.", I can guarantee it's not a death sentence, it's not a national disaster. Spend a day with this kid and he will open your eyes quick.

You see, Logan gets to see the world completely different. A lot of us see it through jaded eyes, second guessing everything everyone does, doubting our every step. This boy? He gets to live. Really LIVE. He gets to see the world in all its glory. He gets to believe in magic. He gets to go out in the world and own it. In some ways, I'm jealous that he gets to be this way. I wish that we could all see it the way he does.

Logan has the greatest family he could ever ask for. And he deals with them on a daily basis, not the other way around. (Truth, the family's kind of crazy, which is why I mesh with them so well.) He's blessed so much more than any of us could even wish to be, and yet the world side steps around him because, what, he has Autism? The world is missing out. Autism IS NOT a disease. It's NOT a curse. An estimated 1 in 88 kids born have Autism. And the only thing holding them back is YOU. The "normals", whatever that means. With your big ignorance-filled hammer, you smack a label down on these kids, these tiny humans, these AMAZING children, and refuse to understand.

And that's why I'm doing the St. Louis 2013 Color Run.

http://thecolorrun.com/stlouis/

This year, they're pairing with Autism Speaks, a charity to promote Autism awareness, something the world NEEDS. Ignorance isn't acceptable. Knowledge is. Get yourself educated.

I'm blessed to have a husband who is beyond supportive of this. Not only did he put in for vacation time the weekend of, he's choosing to do it with me. This guy has terrible knees, and he's STILL WANTING to do the whole 5K. Not even for me. For Logan.

And while we'll have enough money to cover registration, I'm not sure that we will have the money for the gas to get there and back, not to mention food.

Now, I'm sure when it comes down to it, we'll find a way to make it work. This whole thing literally happened in a matter of seconds for me, and started with a random "OHAI! Let's go look at the info for maybe next year!" on a whim. This is where we need the help.

I'm not asking for much. Prayers, positive thoughts, those are excellent. But what we could really use is donations. If 100 people just donated $1, we'd have enough money for gas. No joke.

I'm not asking you to donate. I'm not begging you to donate. But if in your heart you feel that you should/could/would help, we would greatly appreciate it. Something in the universe pulled me to this. I'm meant to do this. I know it.

Help us help Autism. Help us fight the ignorance. Help us to get people to SEE.

Infuriating Mommy Moments.

I'm going to take a minute to get serious here. From a mom POV.
I know. I don't do that a lot.

When I was pregnant with Myriah, I met a lot of fantastic people on a parenting/pregnancy forum. I still talk to some occasionally. The kids are all huge now, I have no idea when that happened.

Some of those kids are autistic.

If you don't know much about autism, I suggest you read some things. There are a TON of stereotypes out there about it that are just WRONG. I can tell you that I, personally, met one of these kids and he stole my heart. He's amazing in every way possible. I've talked about him. You can read his story here.

His mother is a brilliant writer. She has a way with words that I could only dream of having.
She also hardly wears pants but, to be honest, most days I don't, either.

And then, this happened.
It enraged me. A lot. I personally haven't been on the journey that Kristy and Logan have been on, so I can't honestly 100% feel the way that they do. I know that, and I'm not claiming to. But seriously guy? As if your "music" didn't suck enough, you're really showing your true colors. And it's ridiculous.

And then? Then I saw this on Facebook. And I became even more outraged.
This is from another mother that I met while pregnant. Her son also has autism. He was supposed to be in the care of a teacher SPECIFICALLY set to work with children that learn a little differently than others. That teacher was supposed to understand that these kids have some triggers, sometimes can't get the words out that they want to, but are still so effing intelligent that they can comprehend everything in their surroundings. Autism isn't something that holds them back. Autism shows them a view of the world that others aren't lucky enough to see.
But the fact that a TEACHER is hurting a CHILD? That's wrong. Just so very wrong.

A teacher is supposed to be someone a child can confide in. Remember back in the days of grade school when we were encouraged to talk to our teachers if something was wrong? Apparently, our kids don't have that luxury. Nope. They open their mouth with the high risk of being hit, bullied, or God knows what else.

And the worst part? No one is sharing their story.
Well I am.

The media needs to start writing about this. Not about what the Kardashians are doing this weekend. Not about how Tom and Katie's divorce is going. No. Those stories are a dime a dozen. Let's get the REAL story out for the world to see. They need to see it. They need to hear it.

We all need to take a stand on this. It can just as easily be you getting the phone call.

5 Years. Wow.

5 years. Wow. They went by FAST.

This is how I remember him.

The little boychild that made houses out of cardboard boxes with my Riah.

The little boychild that won my heart over reading stories of mermaids and dolphins.

The little boychild that was once allowed to play in Riah's bed. Yeah, don't know if that'll ever be able to happen again without having to kick Kristy's ass.

The little boychild who is destined to be a rockstar.

The little boychild with such captivating, bold, blue eyes.

The little boychild that loved food. I seem to remember that during one late night Wal-Mart trip with his mommy and me, we passed by a Burger King and he very excitedly exclaimed "YAY!"

This little boychild is 5 years old today. 5. FIVE. And you know what?
He isn't the only thing that has gotten any bigger in those 5 years. The love I have for him in my heart has grown as well.

Happy birthday, Legoman Flowerpants. You may be getting bigger, but you'll always be the little boychild that stole my sweet potatoes.

Aunt Rachel loves you very, VERY much.