Merry Christmas!

Christmas at our house is always, well, odd. We do the same things pretty much, but without my Mom and Dad to visit, it still seems odd. They've been gone 10 years now, but it seems like yesterday. We do miss them so much.

Yesterday, Christmas Day, we got to sleep in until 6 a.m.. A real record for us. For several years we were up at 4 a.m.. The pile of stuff under the tree gets smaller and costs more--a phenomenon known to all parents of teens. DD had a wish list that totaled over a thousand dollars, and FTD asked for one game. I really pushed FTD to come up with something else he wanted, but all he could ask for was the game. And it's Wii Music, which he said he wanted because the whole family can play it together. Way too sweet. (As a side bar, I went to the store to pick it up, and the price dropped $30! So then I really felt crappy for being so cheap with the kid.) We had already ordered DD's Lionel Legacy Remote system, even though he doesn't yet have a train that will run on it. But he got a couple of nearly Christmas Eve firewood sales and ended up with enough cash to order his dream engine: the Lionel Heritage Series Katy Legacy Engine. Sadly for him, it's back ordered so we have no idea when it will arrive. It will run with his new remote. He's thrilled and frustrated all at the same time, knowing the stuff is ready and oh so close. There's a train show tomorrow and he still has some cash in his pocket and is ready to blow it all. Sure beats some of the junk upon which he could spend money.

We did get FTD a Garmin Nuvi thingie. He's a map geek, and even though he will probably never drive, he's still our Chief Navigator. He's been able to read maps even when he couldn't read a book or tell someone his own address. One of those quirky autism things. Last night he set up the Garmin, currently named Greta Pam, to guide us to the Monroe Duvendack's for Christmas dinner with family. And unbeknownst to us, he set it to get us back home safely. We actually had fun trying to trick it, but it recalculated and by jove we mad it safe home. And while the thing belongs to FTD, DH and I will use it.

One of the lessons that we learned years ago about having kids with special needs is that we should try to engage them in real-age appropriate activities, even though their mental/spiritual ages are much younger. We've succeed so far with DD--he can be a geek at any age about Nascar and trains. The adults involved with both of those activities get a kick out of him, and really try to include him. We haven't been so lucky with FTD. Yes, his Scouting activities are great, but when he's home by himself, he doesn't turn to say, BSA online games, he goes to pokemon and you-gi-oh. I would argue that these are not age-appropriate, although I'm finding out that several of his typically developing buddies still play them. The difference is that they are dating and driving cars and visiting colleges, while he isn't. I'm still hoping that he can find something else in his life about which he can be a geek and still a socially accepted geek. We tried baseball and nearly succeed, when one adult at his school sent out a seriously negative vibe, and in one sentence turned FTD off from baseball geekdom. (BYW, I still think the teacher who told him "no" should have to come over and play pokemon to make it up to FTD. Jerk.)

The good news is that FTD seems to be very content with his games and videos. He's still kind and compassionate, just quieter than ever. On one hand he seems to be withdrawing more and more, but in reality it might just be that his friends and brother are becoming more and more outgoing. I hope at least.

Tom and I "exchanged gifts" at the hardware store one day last week. That's a fun story and I'll include pics for that one.

I hope you and yours have a pleasant holiday--as a liberal, progressive Christian, I wish you the peace that comes from the spiritual realm. "For unto us a Child is born." What joyous words indeed.

Packin' Time/ Train Show/ My son the Hobo

So now it's time to pack. But first, we decided to buy a trailer. No, not my third bedroom-craft room-office-guest room on wheels, but a 10 year old 5x8 Haulmark cargo trailer. I'll pull it out with me, using the gas-guzzling Trailblazer. So I now have one week to get comfortable driving a trailer. Drat. But in the long haul, and this one will be, it's for the best. I can take all the kitchen gear, all the bedding, a couple of small shelf things we bought, and all the electronics. DH and FTD will need only bring their e-gaming gear, all fishing tackle, and our mattress. Oh, they'll need clothes, too, I suppose. DD told me today that he's not going to wear shorts this week because he's getting ready to go back to winter in YNP. Too cute.

Yesterday was National Train Day in Toledo. DD's club set up all three displays (tho O gauge just brought half their stuff). Really well attended and lots of fun. Amtrak brought in a brand new superliner and dining car so people could tour it. When we arrived, they had to back it up about 50 yards so we got a train ride. DH came out at lunch time to relive me so I could come home. Around 4 I got home from some errands and DD is on the answering machine saying, "Call Dad and tell him I'm on the Amtrak Train and we'll be back in about an hour." Okaaaaaay. Now mind you, this is my 16 son with autism. . . . . I called DH's phone which of course went straight to voice mail and delivered the message. When Tom called me back he said he wondered about that, because DD went down to get a last look at the train before it left. Surprise! It left with your kid!!!!!
We weren't too worried, and knew that if for some reason he was the only passenger that the staff would take good care of him, or if there were lots of folks he'd be okay too. We live life on the edge. Turns out one of the adults from the club was with him. They went across the Maumee River, which is a big one, switched the engine to the back of the train and came back. What a hoot. My little hobo is growing up.

I'll be working on a youtube video of the layouts. I use AnnaDuv2 for my posts and DD uses Amtrakkid. But with all the packing I need to do, meetings I have this week, and girl friends I need to have lunch with, who knows when I'll get around to it. I'll edit this post when I get the pics.

7 days till take off, but who's counting?