Show and Tell

   I mentioned in "Changes" that one of Noah's jokes was pretty funny and that I'd share it.  Before I do, I gotta tell you...just in case you don't know my family really really well...that the saying "Boys will be boys" rings true in just about every aspect of life in the Sharkey household.  I've discovered that these things aren't learned, they're inborn! Boys just come out laughing at their own farts, and yelling at their brothers for farting on them, and it continues through life.  This gives way to hours and hours of father/son bonding. There's a reason we never had a daughter...she'd probably dress like Shiloh Jolie-Pitt!
   Well, back to explaining myself before I share the nitty gritty.  Hopefully I can share more later and I won't feel the need to explain it all first.  I decided a long time ago, that if I couldn't beat 'em, I might as well just join 'em. So I joined, and I enjoy them. They love learning the words to songs I have changed to suit them.  Like that Backyardigans cartoon theme song: Your back yard friends, the backyardigans; well thanks to me it's now Your back fart friends, the back-fart-agains.  So instead of yelling at them for saying gross stuff, I join in, or I laugh with them, or I just shake my head and let them continue, but I also teach them that it's OK to do those silly things at home with their family, but outside our house it's not appropriate or allowed and girls will not like them when they're older if they are gross. So far, so good, except for the time when Daniel was 4 that he put an umbrella between his legs in the middle of Target and yelled to Noah, "Hey Noah, look at my big weenie!" Luckily the lady on the catfood aisle had grandsons so she knew just what I was going through at that moment.
  So, on with the story. It was a hot day today and we had doctor visits and dentist visits and errands to run. When we got home everyone was glad to be out of the van. Boys all stripped down to their underwear once they got in the house and Evan needed a bath to cool him down. Noah told Grammie that his "cheeks" were sticking together, so she told him to put some baby powder on so he would be more comfortable. I didn't know this, and I walked past him after-the-fact, and noticed a dust cloud coming from his backside as he walked.  I said "Noah, are you on fire? There's smoke coming out of your butt." Without skipping a beat, he tells me "Oh no, it's just 'smokin crack'!"  Yes, we've also taught our children proper street terminology so that they know never to accept anything called 'crack' from anyone, drug or otherwise. Oh boy do I hope people following this blog can understand my sarcasm and humor.  Like I said, if we don't just laugh at the things we can laugh at, then we'd spend most of our time crying.
   You know, while we're on the subject of sharing...the support one gets from sharing with friends is a wonderful thing. I'm involved in an online support group for the parents of bipolar children, and it's so wonderful to chat with people who know what I'm going through. I learn alot, and I've been able to offer support to others as well. I thought I needed to start this blog, though, because I wanted to start documenting more of Noah's ups and downs, and it's hard for me to remember to sit down and write it out, but when I'm at the computer, I try to log on to whatever I need to all at once at night...check email, check the bank account, see what friends are up to on facebook, visit the CABF support group, and add a new blog post if there's something I want to document.
   Since I've started this blog, I've had so much positive feedback from so many people. It's given me more strength to get through my days. People who knew about Noah's illness now have a better understanding of life at our house. But the best thing I think that has come out of it has been the support I am getting, and am able to offer, to friends I have who either didn't know I had a child with special needs, or have a child who I wasn't aware had special needs. My support group is great, but many times I have wished some of these moms lived here in So. Cal. rather than any number of different places across the country. And now, I have friends both who live close by and who I may have grown up with or gone to high school with, etc., who I can relate to even more now, and vice-versa. It's not just Facebook that helps us moms stay connected to our friends.  Thank you all for your love and support, and those of you who have that first hand knowledge of special needs kids, I'm here anytime you need love and support!