bountifulplate

There was a time when the thought of taking Dominic to the grocery store would immediately make my stomach tense up, because I knew there would be the inevitable "meltdown" at the checkout. Thank goodness those days are behind us! With tenth grade starting this Monday, I decided to take Dominic with me today to the local Kroger . I called it a "field trip."  I let him carry my "list" and push the cart. We were in there quite a while loading up the cart with great deals! The Kroger was surprisingly empty around the time we went and there was a lane open with no one ahead of us when it was time to check out. I recognized the clerk at the register. I love going to her lane because she is always happy and likes to chat (just like I do)! Dominic helped me put all the items on the conveyor belt and then we both walked towards the clerk to get ready to pay. I made the comment that we were loading up for school (lots of granola bars and Cheez-Its ). She look...

Dominic starts tenth grade a week from this coming Monday. A handful of my friends have kids around the same age as Dominic who are taking (or have taken driver's education training) and are already practicing driving. While I am very happy for them, a part of me feels a little bummed out (and left out).  I remember very distinctly when Lauren was younger, secretly comparing her to other children her age. Things like, crawling, walking and saying their first words. When you are a parent of a "typically-developing" child, those three things come along pretty much "on track." It's a different ball of wax when they have differing needs. Before Dominic was diagnosed with Autism at 2 1/2, I knew something wasn't quite right, but I was so overwhelmed by everything else going on in my life at the time, that I was just happy to make it through each day. When he started school at age three and still in diapers, I wasn't too concerned. It was much easier just...