Sunday, November 9, 2008

More fun then should be legal

This weekend, since Thursday, I've been in VA/MD for the MARAC conference and a visit with part of DH's family. The invite to stay with the DC cousins was a treat. This is family I so enjoy spending time visiting. Discussions are always enlightening and enliving. Also being spoiled away from home is just great too.

I walked Thursday night and was handed a glass of white wine - great way to end the drive from Philly.

The "more fun then should be legal" aspect is riding the Metro from VA to Silver Spring friday and saturday. One of my favorite things is people watching. I enjoy the little kid who is just sooo excited to be on the train, especially if it's not mine. I also am entertained by the wonderful oddities of people when they aren't trying to be the image they want everyone else to see. From the guy who is so into the tunes on his MP3 that his "white boy" shimmy comes out to the college kids dressed for a night on the town.

My favorites for this trip were two boys I saw Saturday. This weekend was the Autism Speaks Walk DC. In the morning, a family group with 3 boys were heading into the District. The one boy was so excited to be on the train and riding underground. Also he would read the next stop posting for everyone. His mom would ask, "is that where we get off?" His anwser each time was nope, we go to Metro Center. Since that was my change point, I considered this generous public service.

On my way back home, evidently the walk was done. I rode from Metro Center back to VA with another family proudly sporting their t-shirts. My entertainment was a dad and the 4-5 year old chatting about their good walk and the fun of riding the train. These observations made the travel back and forth so entertaining.

I really give credit to both of these families and those others who continue to keep their kids out in the world of normal family activities. Over the past three years, thanks to a good friend, I've become more aware of just a few of the issues around life with an austistic child.

More later about the fun and other activity of the weekend later.

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