what's been happening

Henry did fantastic going back to school last week. I have hesitated to write about it because I know many other kids had a rougher time getting back on schedule, and I don't want to seem like I'm bragging! But we all know that what goes around comes around, and I'm sure we've got a rough week in our future.
Monday he got off the bus in a cheerful mood, told Bill he had "a terrific day", and that he wanted to "go home and play with that Wii" instead of going to daddy's workout place. Bill obliged, and they had several rousing games of bowling and baseball. (Back in the summer I wrote about how much Henry enjoyed playing Wii. We didn't end up getting one for his birthday, but did score one for Christmas.) I can't say enough about the Wii. Not only does it get our sedentary guy moving, and trying new things, but he loves to play with others, and cheer them on. "Pick up that spare Daddy!" he'll holler, frame after frame after frame...
The only downside, as you might have suspected, is getting him to stop playing. He becomes quite single-minded and frantic about playing, and shouts and cries when it's time to stop. Hopefully that will get better over time.
Here is a little video from Christmas day at my Mother-in-Law's house. Henry is bowling and you can hear him announce "8 pins!" and then "1 pin!" He also likes to mimic some of the game noises...


Another cool thing that happened Monday was that Henry sat and watched the first hour of the Fiesta Bowl with Bill. He really watched and paid attention to the game, and echoed every single thing that his dad said ("Ahhh- you gotta catch that!") It was pretty neat to see and hear!
Tuesday evening Henry told me his teacher "wrote a very special note". I checked his notebook, and here's what it said:
Henry has been an excellent A+ student! I told him that I would write a very special note. We are very pleased with Henry's hard work and excellent attitude! Keep up the good work Henry!
I can't be sure what was behind this, if it was a bribe of some kind? But whatever the story behind it, I loved reading it. A hell of a lot nicer to read than the notes last year about how he was hurting his friends. And a good reminder that positive reinforcement works with kids. All kids.
Considering what a good week it was, I was caught off-guard by the sadness on Friday. You know, the sadness that is always there, beneath the surface, when you have a child with a disability. I was reading through all the papers that Henry brought home, and there was one announcing get-togethers for siblings. The flyer included quotes from kids about how much fun the groups were and explained that they discuss the hard parts and the good parts of having a special-needs brother or sister.
And I just started crying. Bam.
Um, hello? Your son was diagnosed with PDD 4 years ago. His brother and sister are both siblings of a special-needs kid. This is not news.
But sometimes you see it in a different context and it somehow strikes you anew.
And that brings me to another item I wanted to write about. We have talked to Tommy a little bit about Autism- explaining that some things are harder for his brother, etc. So one morning before school they were watching 101 Dalmations. There's a scene where all the dalmations are supposed to go to bed, but one keeps watching tv. So we're driving to the bus stop and Tommy pipes up "mommy, maybe Lucky* is Autistic. Because he gets right up close to the tv and doesn't want to stop watching it, just like Henry."
Then he turns to Henry and says "Henry, do you know that you are Autistic?" And I just about drive the car up onto the sidewalk.
Henry doesn't even look up from his book, just replies "yes".
So there we have it. All my worry about explaining stuff and the sibling relationship was for nothing.
Here are the brothers having a sword fight on Christmas- the weather was beautiful in Charlotte: