I just logged into Kyle's facebook because I realized I had never finished his profile. "About You" was waiting for completion. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Kim had completed this information. I'm so grateful that she did because what she said expressed it so beautifully...

"I am a tremendously gentle soul. Many times my actions are not understood, as I don't have a verbal way of explaining the feelings that I have. Sometimes, I get so happy that I make loud noises or run around. That is the only thing that I know how to do to show others that I am happy and want to be involved. I don't have a verbal speech way of communicating, but I have many other ways. I use my body, point and use my eyes. Sometimes that is still hard for me, but I am working on it. I love my family and friends and love to go places with them. I want people to know that I am a person who enjoys many of the same things they do, but have different ways of seeing things and experiencing them. I love it when people talk to me and have patience with me. That makes me feel included. Even if I cannot 'say' something back, please know that it means a lot to me for people to notice me and talk to me."

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AND a gem found in "You Can Create an Exceptional Life" by Louise Hay and Cheryl Richardson (which I am currently reading):

Faith= being willing to take chances and keep moving forward without knowing the outcome.

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AND After yoga today, I saw one of the women from the class at the tea shop. I told her "Have a Great Day! She replied, "Every day is a great day!!" Grateful for the reminder. Each day is precious but it's easy to forget so I love when life steps in and taps me on the shoulder.

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AND finally, we are nearing the end of September and the Autism with Attitude back to School Special is almost over. If you order a copy of Breathe, you can receive any other item FREE! "Anything?!?" Yes, but just until Friday.  Simply order on AutismWithAttitude and in the comment section indicate which item you want to receive as your freebie.                            x

Sometimes the best blog posts come from someone else's blog. Thank you dear friend for having the courage to write about your experiences and share your feelings so that we may learn alongside you. And thanks for letting me borrow this post. 

The Silver Lining

"Right after I was diagnosed with cancer, I felt shock, sadness, and fear. One day, I looked out the window into my backyard, dappled in the bright Arizona sunlight. My view stopped at the back wall, and suddenly a shiver went through me. Up until then, I had always thought of my life as extending to the far distant horizon, like the view I've had from so many mountaintops. On that day, I realized it might not be so. I could live only a few more years, as far as the back wall so to speak, or another 40 years.

This isn't true just for me, now that I have cancer, but for everyone. None of knows how much time we have. We all know that life is finite, but for most of us this is an abstract concept until a life-threatening crisis awakens us to our all-to-real mortality.

My "back wall" moment terrified me. But once I got past the fear, an amazing thing happened. I began to have a greater appreciation for every good thing in my life. The big Southwestern sky that I love never looked bluer. The rugged Arizona landscape seemed prettier than ever. A homemade bowl of soup I've made many times brought more intense pleasure to my taste buds. Every kind gesture, message, phone call, and card from a loved one filled me with joy and gratitude.

After "seeing the back wall," I also understood with greater clarity what is most important to me: People, relationships and experiences; honesty, integrity, generosity and love. If we don't have these, the rest of what we spend our lives striving for will never fill us up.

Next thing you know, I'll be saying "life is groovy," or some other nonsense. Not really. I just wanted to share with you the silver lining of this difficult time in my life. My husband and I are both more "in the moment," finding ways to enjoy and appreciate each day. Yesterday, after my second chemo treatment, we got to work updating our bucket list. Trips to Hawaii and Ireland are at the top, but it is quite a long list and extends well into the future."

Life is groovy, wouldn't ya say? :-)

I’ve had a lot of opportunities to put things in perspective these days. Kyle has had a great, feeling good/healthy week. He has gotten into the swing of things with all his activities and is excited to start his day each morning. In fact, he’s so excited, he’s getting up much too early for my taste.  He participates in life more now than every before and it's really heartwarming to see. 

Just last night he had a very special experience at the Music Museum with Tammy his new assistant (caregiver, guide, friend= assistant). He came back tired and satiated with the experience of a wonderful evening of music, including a live performance. 

My attitude  is very much about making hay when the sun shines and hoping the sun will shine longer and longer. I sit in gratitude for these days. They are a special gift. The cycles have made these days that much more special because I know it is not a given that he will wake up feeling good and I can’t take any day for granted. It’s so easy to do that when good health is present most of the time. I like what my friend recently wrote about appreciating each day like never before. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes disease to kick us in the butt toward that mentality. 

Kyle just joined Facebook. What?

It was suggested to me a long time ago that Kyle should have a facebook page and I resisted. Oh no, another thing to manage.. blah blah blah. But I am now seeing it differently. I realize that many people that know and care about Kyle have no idea that he has much of a life outside his home. Often when people come to the house he is sitting in his chair listening to music, doing his thing, or walking around the house or eating. Even family members don’t really know how he fills his days when he is feeling well. He is not able to communicate with them and I have not really been keeping people in the loop either. This is where Facebook comes in and how we can expand Kyle’s connections and share some of his life with family and friends. He is even starting to have a small interest in looking at the computer. 

So I invite you dear readers... become a friend of Kyle Nobel on facebook and share in his moments of Living Life.