A Heartfelt Moment Of Gratitude

These are just very heavy times. By the very nature of some of the things a family such as ours can experience, this is not generally a light-hearted blog, the kind that a person would turn to for distractions when the headlines are detailing the stark horrors of wars and death. I promise each of you no drama this week, but rather I will start off with something I am grateful for even in a not so easy circumstance.

Once, several years ago, I wrote in one of my product reviews about the special circle in hell that can await a parent of a disabled kiddo who needs general anesthesia for their dental cleanings or fillings. This is the circle reserved for parents of kiddos with limited impulse control, heavily limited risk assessment, the ability to strategize, and the urge to self-harm when they don’t get their way, who are told they can’t eat or drink for the first 4-5 hours they are awake while they await their check in time and procedure. For Tony, who still needs that type of dental intervention, while thankfully he no longer hits his head, tantrums and attempts to create diversions or push his way to food could still be a very real possibility in that type of scenario, and his overall mood could be either hysterical or combative by the time we arrived under those conditions.

This last Thursday when I showed up to our little man’s pre-anesthesia clearance at his dentist’s, I was over the moon elated to hear that his check-in time was scheduled for 5:40am. And profoundly grateful. Deeply grateful. To our son’s dental team, a million thank you’s for giving us an absolutely heavenly check in time under the circumstances.

Some Thoughts On What I Have Been Reading

Y’all, my will to write any sort of credible and comprehensive review of anything I’ve been reading is more on fall break than I am. I personally still need to do hab therapy this week, but the reviews? Uh-uh. Mentally they are frolicking away in the contemplation of spending time watching some Netflix with my honey and some more Nailed It with Hannah.

So. As brief as I possibly can, some of what I have been enjoying lately is a more lengthy visual stroll through more of the books written by Chloe Liese. Thankfully, our local e-library has quite a few of them. What I appreciate is the way she represents neurodivergent characters as romantic leads when she writes about them. I also think by writing about the mental health needs of her leads, it creates this space that tells readers “you are worthy of being seen as a romantic lead and having those needs doesn’t make you less so.” I very much love that! Recently from her, I have finished “Only When It’s Us” and “Always Only You,” and I thought they were both good reads. Quick heads up for my more conservative loved ones, there is possibly a higher level of description as regards to intimate moments than you may be comfortable with, so just heads up, maybe skip the bedroom scenes if you have an interest in trying one of these books.