Birds are A-Holes

*Warning for absolutely horrible language. The following account is completely true and maybe only slightly embellished due to hysteria. 

Nola, my pain in the ass cat.

Nola, my cat, escaped (again) last night when I forgot to latch the front door after letting Roxy out. It was raining and I didn't hear the door not close. Also, I was on the phone with my friend from Autism Art Project, so I was distracted. I hung up with her and was trying to get Morgan into bed... He kept getting up and wandering around.

That's when shit got real and my actions stopped making sense.

I heard Morgan yell, "CAT! Cat's out!" and he was freaking out, so I ran outside into the mothereffing storm. No jacket, no flashlight, and zero common sense.

Nola viewing her domain.

Ugh. I was yelling for this cat, shaking bushes and trees. She ran out to me and then back into a bush, just to be a jerk, so I followed her, trying to grab her. Did you know cats are really freakin' slick when they're wet? And dark cats are really hard to see in the dark without a flashlight?

I lost sight of her until I just barely heard a peeping sound over the booming thunder and howling wind. I saw the big bush next to my downstairs (directly underneath me) neighbor's patio moving wildly. Nola had climbed up into the damned thing. 

Apparently, she'd seen where the mockingbirds (whatever kind, they're asshole birds) had built a nest and stuck two of their babies. She snagged a baby before I could grab her scruff and ran into the hedges, which are mean ass holly bushes. Also, I'm convinced snakes are in there.

I then made it my goal to chase her away from the baby bird. In the rain. And thunder. And lightning. So, basically, I would chase Nola some and then stop and scream as lightning would streak across the sky, then run. I went across the damned parking lot and toward the "swamp," got soaking wet, busted my ass, and had nasty mud between my toes. I was visualizing snakes, rats, and God only knows what else in the dark.

I came back inside the apartment and Thomas gave me the third degree about our delinquent cat, why I didn't have her, and why I wasn't interested in nabbing her. I mean, the little shit tried to KILL a baby bird! How dare she? I was seriously indignant. He wasn't seeing things my way, so he went to look for her, but no dice. All I could think about was that poor baby bird, which doesn't make sense. I loathe birds. I have a serious phobia of birds. I will panic if a bird comes near me. And, hell, I could have been hit by lightning! Or bitten by a snake!

The storm eventually got worse and Nola came inside because I'm a tenderhearted asshole and stood outside getting wet while calling her.

This morning, I could hear the momma bird squawking her terrifying ass off, looking for her baby. Really, she was negligent for not watching her kids, right? Who leaves their children overnight? I came outside and looked over the balcony. It was a miracle! I saw the baby bird, still breathing, on the ground! It was in the mean ass holly bushes!

So, I faced my phobia, because I'm a good person, dammit, grabbed a clean washcloth, and went downstairs. Immediately,that momma bird started on the attack, trying to peck my eyes out. "Just effing stop!" I yelled. But she didn't. I was terrified.

I picked up that baby bird ever so gently and that's when the momma bird went ten shades of psycho. She was swooping and screaming, cawing like nothing I've ever heard in my entire life right next to my ear. I had to persist in my task of picking up her baby, though. It was like I was on a mission from God. Or something.

I had to drop the baby in the nest like it was a lump of hot coal because, dammit, my life was at stake. I could have died. That damn bird wasn't grateful to have her kid back! She was still dive bombing me and trying to peck my very brains out!

Unfit mother bird. 

She's been yelling at my door all damned day and tried to take my head off when I took Morgan to school. I mean, she got her kid back! I wasn't even the nest wrecker! She ought to be glad I don't call Avian CPS on her!

What a bitch of a bird. Gah. No wonder I have phobias.

Unless it's a box turtle, I'm never rescuing another animal ever again. Ever.

*My friend tried to convince me that the bird is my spirit animal and this fight with the momma bird is symbolic of me protecting my kids or some such crap. You know what? My spirit animal is a cheetah. Cheetahs eat birds and wake in the morning to piss excellence. 

An Uncommon Father's Day Tribute

Dear Dad,

Thanks for screwing up in a phenomenal way.

Your screw ups, and their lasting effects on me, have done me a world of favors. Truly. I used to loathe you for it, but now I only feel some mild apathy and pity because you've missed out on the nine best things to ever happen to your world- your children and grandchildren.

By your actions, you taught me that a promise is never real until it's proven.

You taught me that I could always pass the buck to someone else if I wanted nothing to do with the task at hand. However, what you neglected to say out loud is that you cannot gripe about the results because you've given up all responsibility.

You were the life professor who taught me to never settle for less than I would be willing to give. To never hang all of my hopes and dreams on a person who doesn't love himself enough to love me in return. To never show all of my cards because someone will take advantage of that, like you.

I learned that addictive personalities are genetic, but being an ignorant  jackass isn't.

You taught me what to look for in a father for my children. Someone who would care. Be there. Someone who would remember their child's birthday.. or a graduation.. or the birth of a grandchild or a wedding. Someone who would want to be there. Someone who understood that my parents being at an event for our children was a privilege, not a right. You lost the memo for the last one.

You taught me that I didn't want to marry someone like you in my formative years. Someone who would not be violent, someone I could trust, and someone with a real backbone, who wouldn't allow his childhood to rule his head for his entire adulthood. Without ever actually directing me that way, you sold me on the idea of gravitating toward a survivor like me who would understand that life's not always a pretty picture for everyone. We, at the time, were the best things to happen to each other. So, thank you.

As a frequent consumer of cheap booze and spewer of denial, you instilled in me the belief that I must take responsibility for my actions- while intoxicated or sober.  A whole world built upon lies must make your head a very frightening place. It's a place that no therapist, medication, or daughter can explore because you've closed off the in roads. That world must be lonely, but we on the outside will never know. I speak and live my truth to the best of my abilities. I poke fun at it, but I try to never deny it.

In the less than dozen times I saw you growing up, you taught me that I wanted more for myself. That I would never be comfortable with someone else raising my children, as you were, while I was raising someone else's, as you did.

I know that just because you're so terrified of being responsible for what you've created, doesn't mean that I'm the same way. I'm not like you.

I learned from you that I have strong roots in things which aren't great, but I am the person who chooses to cut those roots. I choose my future and what I will allow to affect me from my past.

You didn't do that. You chose the roots embedded in darkness and I chose to allow light in my life. I had to cut the roots that led to you and I am grateful every day that I did.

By both actions and inactions, you've taught me so much.

Thank you, Dad. Happy Father's Day.

Sincerely,

Jessi
*This is the proper way to spell my name, in case you're reading this and wondering.

Today

Today I was grateful.

We were by ourselves and no explanations, no funny looks, no "why does he make that sound?" happened.

We were alone at the pool and it was wonderful.

My boys played like only they can play, with their own language and movement.

They raced. They dove. They sang. They smiled.

They were children.

They didn't cry. They didn't notice the stares I notice. They didn't feel the scrutiny I feel and shrug off.

I didn't fight the urge to scream from the noises, to shove children away from my children for calling names or touching them, or sit on the pool steps coiled like a spring, ready to take action. Or look on with bated breath, afraid that my autistic son, in his efforts to make a friend in his community, will innocently do what is consider the wrong thing by his typical and rather boorish peers. Even though he's just doing what his clique at school taught him was okay.

I was able to breathe.

I enjoyed myself.

I smiled.

I sang with my kids and swam.

I didn't fear.

I didn't steam.

I didn't tell a parent to control their child, too.

I know I shouldn't let other people matter, but sometimes they do. Sometimes, I need to be by myself with my kids. I don't want the world to interfere because sometimes, the world's inhabitants can be awful.

Today, we were lucky.

Today was a great day.

My Life on Lupron

*If you're just joining me, or have come aboard in the last couple of months, I have severe endometriosis. I've already had a radical hysterectomy at the age of 27. Since last fall, I have been in a lot of pain because of a reemergence of my endometriosis that we've found to be inoperable because of the locations of the endometrials. Now, I'm on a six month course of Lupron - a drug that shuts off all estrogen production/targets estrogen cells - to kill these little clusters of hell. 



Lupron is the effing devil.

I'm going into week three or four of Lupron and this shit is making me insane. Certifiably. I think?

Apparently, it feels weirder if you've had a hysterectomy. You get to actually feel it attacking the endometrials. I think it's like the "pew-pew" battles seen in Star Wars. Imagine tiny ships shooting little lasers into the endos, okay? They just load that little estrogen cell filled thing up with medicine, it gets full to bursting, then BOOM! They knock the hell out of that thing, draining all of the estrogen out and save the day!

The pew-pew fight moves on to another endo and the battle resumes. Some of the endos fight back, and that's when the swelling occurs. Can you tell I've had time to think about this?

Lupron puts you in menopause, which I'd already be in, but I went off of my meds for that keep me out of it.

Menopause and I don't mix, okay?

I'm having hot flashes that make me wish the Polar Vortex was still hanging out. Meanwhile, everything outside is swampy feeling. I get that I live near a damn swamp, but does the air have to feel so freakin' offensive? It's not just hot, it's like I step into a wet towel fresh out of the sauna from hell.

My apartment's thermostat is set to 75 degrees to keep the other inhabitants comfortable. However, all ceiling fans are going full blast at all times. I'm guilty of sticking my head in the freezer, sticking the ice pack thingies under my knees or arms to cool down, and yelling to an empty apartment, "Just stop moving! I have to cool off!"

I want to move to Antarctica.

I'm saying stuff out loud without meaning to. You know, more than usual. That self editing thing I'm really bad at? Oh God, it's just gone, if it was ever there. I've asked the kids to breathe quietly, to stop smiling so loudly, and then apologized. I've told the dog she's too fat, the cat that she's an embarrassment to felines, and then cried. I've told my husband he can't touch me, then cried when he didn't hug me. I've cried over insurance commercials.

To add insult to injury, my stupid hair is falling out and coming in gray. I'm pretty sure this crap is getting chopped off. Not that this is an irrational decision (ahem, people who have said that).

You see, I'm a hot flashin' mess. Not literally a hot "flashing" mess, but a hot flashin' mess. Whatever.

And the food. Oh, wow... the food. I'm going to turn into a Lemon Creme cookie before this is over with. Or a container of Hagen Daaz Salted Caramel ice cream. I have very little willpower.

Just a snack

I'm so damned ragey. I have rage. I can't write about it, or much else, though, because my brain ditched me somewhere around the time that damn needle was put into my buttcheek.

I have these thoughts? And when I think them? They sound awesome. Then, when I write them down? I can't decipher (see what I did?) them sober or drunk. Not that I'm getting drunk, because that causes more friggin bloating and less operational thinking.

So, what do I do with this rage? I thank baby Jesus in swaddling clothes that I'm on Prozac every single day and I try to stay away from the general public. True story.

It's been easy to stay away from the public for the last couple of weeks because it's either been raining or I've been so swollen, I've needed to stay inside. I can't waddle to the pool. But, with sunnier weather on the way and these fluid pills finally working, that hermit plan is kind of over. I need to remember, "inside voice."

I also make really awful memes. You're not seeing them because they, well, suck.

See?

Let's just hope that that the remaining five months of this crap are quick, without incident, and my kids finally get to go swimming because they have to get out of the house and stop leaving Legos and trains everywhere. 

I also need to keep, "Jessi, inside voice," on loop in my brain, I suppose. 

Sometimes, this female crap sucks. 

Dear You

*Trigger warning for talk of sexual abuse

Dear all of You,

I hate You. I don't hate easily, but I hate You.

I hate You for being the monsters that stole my innocence at the age of two, and again at three, then four, then five, and so on until I just expected to be threatened and abused by men at any age.

I hate You for implanting the most godawful things into my memories, things I cannot get rid of, things that wake me in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat, and screaming "STOP!" to someone who isn't there.

I hate the pain that stabs my heart when I think of the adults who were hurting me when they should have been protecting me as I grew up.

Maybe my autism was the reason I literally believed time and again that You would kill me if I told. Did you sense that? My naivete? Is that why some of You laughed?

You played so many roles in my life.

You were my babysitter, my best friend's dad, my family members, and nearly a stranger. You wore so many masks to cover your personality. You forced me to wear to wear mine, too.

I grew so used to those masks, I still wear them today out of habit.

Did it come naturally to You, I wonder? The ability to destroy someone's psyche at a very young age? Did you learn this somewhere? I assume it was pure Id that made you act upon your impulses, because no decent human being would molest or rape a child. But You did. You gave no thought to the outcome.

People made excuses for one of You, they called you "ill." People knew your dark truths and covered up years of secrets. I was your secret keeper until I wasn't. Then I opened Pandora's box and was called a liar by some.

I wish the things in my head were all made up, but they aren't. I would have a happier mind if flashbacks didn't occur.

One of your sons reached out to me for contact. You probably don't know that. I see he has little girls. He calls you his hero, the best guy he's ever known. I melted down and panicked when I read that. Are You ever going to tell him that his girls aren't safe around you?

I know one of You has granddaughters. I hope their mother is less trusting of you than my own was, even though she was leaving her children in the care of their father.

There are chips in my armor and sometimes I must put forth a facade of strength that I do not have. But I survived. I don't know why any of You picked me. I'll never know why.

I've stopped asking myself that question and accepted that you're less than human. I have so much in my life You don't and You can never take that away.


I have love.

I have stability.

I have a voice.

I have dignity.

I survived all of You.

The State of You

Hey you. Yes, you.

The person who doesn't know where to put that line between yourself and the in-laws or parents. Or the extended family, maybe old friends. The you who is so damned busy discovering yourself that you are baffling and probably irritating the crap out of all of these people that they feel compelled to say something awful (they're jack wagons, fyi)

The you who is in my groups, writing me messages, posting to forums, wondering how in the hell you're going to make it without turning into an axe murderer of assholes everywhere.

You? You. Are. Fanfreakintastic.

You just need something...

You need a contract saying that the state of you isn't up for debate, sale, or negotiation. Just no. You're finding your comfy spot in the world, just as everyone else is supposed to be able to do, no matter the neurology, and people must back the hell off. 

There is no "good time" to confront you about your parenting skills if you are a parent doing the best you can. Are they parenting your child? No. Paying your bills? Living your life? Listening to your thoughts on loop? No. So they, the all-encompassing "they," don't matter.

Put that in the contract.

Stay away from the online jack wagons who want to tear into you, whether they are family or flat out foe. You don't need that, unless you want your blood pressure to skyrocket and you like throwing random crap at your wall (I might do this). Anytime you see that crap, hide it. Delete them. Unfollow. Problem solved.

This is part of the poison which seeps into your life and defecates on your thoughts, makes you question your life skills thus far, and stirs envy at times. It also calls into question your parenting, your diagnosis if you have one, and so much else. Squash it like the vermin it is.

Put it in your contract for you that you won't allow this crap to eat away at your happy moments. Call bullshit when you see it or read it, at least in your head, and move on. This just drains you.

The stares? The whispers? The people in public who would rather treat you and/or your child as a sideshow? Also don't matter. They take up precious space in your peripheral vision, in your thoughts as you recall a moment, and in ten minutes, two years, however long- they won't matter.

The contract shall state that the peripheral assholes don't matter. Period.

The naysayers to your diagnosis or your child's diagnosis also don't matter. They don't live your life. They don't live in your brain as you loop your thoughts around the same thing over and over like a horse on a carousel. Or search endlessly for the correct "weight" of a shirt. They aren't there as your child perservates on something that happened two years ago. Or as you do. So, they can also go away.

In you contract for you, boundaries must be clear. Boundaries that read: "Hi, I'm/we're/my child is autistic. Respect me/us/him/him." That's all. That's all you should have to say. Stick to that and you'd be surprised by how many people might back up.


Above all, make your contract read: "I am me. I am glad to be me. I am proud of myself or working towards that. I will not allow anyone to control my or my family's happiness. I am a good human being." And mean it.


What does the contract for the state of you say?

We Need to Stop

Anytime a tragedy like the recent murder of autistic Robert Robinson by his mother Angie happens, our entire community blows the hell up.  

Stop. Just stop. 

Arguments are quickly thrown out in articles on blogs and forums. God help you if you get it wrong. Or, even worse, if you get it right. Of course, no admits to the correct party from the wrong party if the correct party is correct. See how batcrap that is?

Just a quick observation list:

Words that average blog/article readers probably have to Google get thrown into conversation. This is how we know the conversation is going downhill. 

People pick apart arguments that barely exist. "Well, perhaps better services in place could have prevented this." "Not the time or the place for this discussion. Your comment shall be deleted by the admins."

If you say that you could see where a parent could have caregiver fatigue, you're called a murder apologist. "The parent should have called CPS, 9-1-1, left the child at a hospital or an agency for themselves. To say you understand any aspect of this parent is to defend this parent and I won't have murder apologists on this thread." What the hell? Anyone ever think that a parent in this kind of situation might be dealing with psychosis? Just wondering. 

If there is an acknowledgement of aggression and autism existing, a lot of people get up in arms. Why aren't we allowed to acknowledge this? And also, why don't people understand that the level of "autism severity" has not one thing to do with levels of aggression? I digress.

If you say that your kid is also aggressive, you're demonized in some form for putting that out there. Unless you're speaking to parents who might get it. It's a rarity, but it happens. 

You can't just say, "This is hard. My heart goes out to this person and his family." Nope, can't include the family. You just have to ignore the hell out of any siblings, grandparents, etc. 

You can't point out lack of services. Murder is never an acceptable option. So why are these two tied together? Why can't we have this discussion at the same time? 

You can't portray autism as anything but rainbows and unicorn farts, I guess. I don't remember seeing that in the diagnostic criteria in the DSM, but that seems to be the party line most people toe these days, including me a lot of the time. Guys, autism is fucking hard. It's hard to raise an autistic child with some aggression thrown in the mix. It's hard to be autistic some days. It's okay to admit this. 

There are massive refusals to see counterpoints/differences of opinions, even if they're only slight. It's okay to be angry- people should be angry this is happening. It's natural to feel hurt that something like this has happened again. But to not be able to see others' points of view? That's blindness. Willful blindness. 

We need to stop. None of this fighting and refusing to admit that things are hard is helping anyone in our community. All it's done is lay more blame in the wrong areas and making more people feel more alone and as if they should hide. And for what?

Making people feel isolated and even more alone isn't why I started blogging. If you ever feel as if you are in need of someone to talk to, in need of services and you know you are local to me (within the Louisiana/Mississippi/Alabama area), email me at deciphermorgan@gmail.com . If you aren't in my area, email me anyways. I know services don't always exist, but I'm willing to try to help you. You can find me on my Facebook page, too. 

If we cannot come together as a community and talk about the hard things- lack of services- for both autistics and caregivers, reasons for aggression (face it- a lot of caregivers are in the dark), and how to prevent another murder/suicide of an autistic and parent- then who do we discuss these things with? Our government?

We help, not more judgement from inside our own community.