Here I am

Blue is a nice color. I think I will begin this journey with blue. It's peaceful, and the ocean is blue, after all. So it couldn't be all bad; don't you agree? In fact, I wouldn't mind being at the ocean right now, on a warm July day, at the haven I call my family's summer cottage. Instead I sit draped under my wool jacket, in a heat-deprived living room, with so many thoughts to share. Well, here I am.

I have never blogged before, and more precisely, I'm not even quite sure just what a blog is! I know it usually consists of thoughts spilled aimlessly or not-so-aimlessly onto a page, for all the world to peruse. I suppose it's easier than writing a book! So please join with me on this journey as I share a little with you about myself and my life. And since I'm a little weary tonight, I will be brief for this first posting.

I do love to talk! But the first thing you should know about me, is that it is hard for me to physically talk, sometimes! I was blessed to inherit a family stuttering gift, much to my chagrin, and it intermittently plagues me, as a form of speech hesitation. When I am particularly stressed, or tired, it is a bit worse - and on those days I wish all the world would stop talking! So this is really an ideal format for me, since my fingers have absolutely no trouble in chatting! I have had a wonderful email friend, my sister-in-law, for many years now - and she is indispensible to me. I have enjoyed this email relationship so much, that I thought perhaps I might enjoy a larger "audience..."

So - hello, friends! Oh, I said I would be brief, didn't I? OK. Here goes, cut-and-paste style, to speed things up a bit...

• I grew up in a loving, normal (is there such a thing?) home



• I went to college, and yes, I graduated (ha)



• I play several instruments, and am fluent in Spanish, which I've taught for a total of 6 years, with a very long break in between - to raise a family!



• I'm a committed Christian
  


• I love my husband - very, very much! (there's a cool story there - for another time!)



• My kids are great. Usually. LOL



• My first child died, after 9 months, and it was a very tough time in our lives



• My second child is autistic. And he's usually the reason we live and love and laugh and cry and groan and sing and work and fall down, as we do, in this home.

Autism.


And what it has done to us, as human beings, as believers, as members of society, as a family.


And so my blog begins.