Lesson 743: Blue and Orange

The month of April is coming to a close, Readers.

If December is known for green and red,

April is known for blue 

and orange.

April is autism awareness month.

My crew wore these tees all month long.

Sam and Ellen never mind highlighting Natalie's uniqueness.

I can honestly say that I cannot think of a single instance

that Sam or Ellen have ever been uncomfortable with Natalie

or resentful over the way we live our lives to accommodate her.

The same goes for my nephews.

Jack is very patient with Erik and takes his quirks in stride.

I mean,

after all,

who else shows up to your cousin's first Homecoming

wearing a reindeer onesie.

Nobody even thinks twice about it.

Natalie has made a nice little life for herself,

working at Penn State Behrend

and doing the things she loves

with the people (and pets)

she loves most.

My Sundays are spent with Erik.

We've walked our shoes clear through

during the pandemic.

One of his favorite places to go 

is the playground and walking path 

at the North East Gravel Pit Park.

He loves to go on the stage.

This is my next favorite pair of siblings.

Ryan McGuire has autism.

This is his younger sister, Brittany.

They have become a TikTok sensation

by sharing their lighthearted and fun videos

of their life and relationships.

Brittany loves TikTok dances and taught Ryan how to do them.

Ryan is a sports fanatic and loves to go to games with Brittany.

Check out their interview on the Today Show.

Consider it mandatory homework.

So Fun! Please watch! CLICK HERE

What's new in the autism world this year?
There's a bit of a debate over the symbol

used to represent it.

Here is a nice, 

easy to read article about autism symbols

for Bonus Points.

Autism symbols article CLICK HERE

It began with the puzzle piece ribbon.

Twenty years ago Kenyan and I 

were pinning these on your shirts.

The ribbons identified closer to diseases

than the diverse conditions of autism,

so just the puzzle piece was used to represent it.

Eventually there was a debate about the colors.

The primary red, yellow, and blue

made people think of young children

and that autism was a condition of a child.

A rainbow color of puzzle pieces represented

the broad spectrum of autism much better 

than red, yellow, and blue could.

Next came the issues with the puzzle piece.

People with autism spoke out against it

stating they did not want to be known as

a problem that needed solving---

so enters the infinity symbol.

The rainbow symbol was new and confusing,

so the term neurodiveristy

was attached to it.

In keeping with the times,

someone came up with something clever to

try to keep everyone happy.

Meet the unicorn rainbow sprinkles version

of the autism awareness symbol.

The other parts of the month we roll with the orange.

Played two games tonight,

and two more to go tomorrow,

so this blue and orange household is headed to bed.

Next week Ellen will be back from the plaid.

She's finishing up her junior year at Edinboro University next week!

We can't wait to have her home for the summer.

Let's hope she brings some consistently warmer weather with her.

The roller coaster temperatures are killing my sinuses!

Eloise

Lesson 742: Inside Outside

Hello, Readers.

Happy Earth Day.

Here's a quote from an author from one of my favorite

childhood books.

Can you guess the classic novel?

It made me desperately want to raise a pig

and name it Wilbur.

If you guessed EB White to be the author of

Charlotte's Web, you are correct!

Reading about wise old Charlotte the spider

made a lasting impression on young Eloise.

Spiders are one thing I never have feared.

I think I missed reading it to Sam.

I found the gentle giant getting ready for school in the downstairs 

half bathroom off of the kitchen this morning.

I peeked in the door with a raised eyebrow 

to inquire what was going on.

"Spider," he said.

It's like an elephant with a mouse.

Sam had a great varsity debut tonight in McLane,

so I'll go easy on the teasing tonight.

Earth Day was a beauty!

Outside the sun was shining

and the school kids got to play outside for recess 

on a nice, spring day.

These are the perfect springtime clouds/

After the snow last weekend,

I am tickled to see things greening up.

The earth laughed, too,

giggling up some fresh buds and blossoms.

We know the end of the school year is closing in.

The congrats seniors 2022 sign is on top of the stadium!

If you drive by my house and try to look in from the outside

this mess is what you will see.

It's part of our bird deterrent system.

We have taken almost every one of your suggestions.

He keeps at the window pecking,

but not quite as often.

Natalie and I blasted Metallica at him a couple of days ago, too.

The garage is summer ready with the recliners back in place.

Inside we've finally chosen a floor.

Mr. Lamp Post did a fabulous job!

We finally agreed on a wide plank maple!

Now back to the disagreements.

We cannot decide on a color for the counter peninsula!

As always--

we kindly welcome Reader suggestions.

Lighter?

Darker?

Black?
A color?

Baseball season is the most hectic of the year.

The games are long.

The weather is unpredictable.

By the end of the night, I am always very tired,

but wound tigher than a top.

I find that if I have a good laugh before bed,

I sleep much better.

Freeform runs episodes of The Office every night.
We just watched the one where Michael Scott said,

"I'm not superstitious.  I'm just a little stitious."

Here are some good Office quotes if you are in need of a laugh, too.

Best Office Quotes

Weekend MANDATORY homework:

Don't worry. 

It's a video.

Watch this Earth Day piece

narrated by David Attenborough.

 8 Important Minutes David Attenborough

And, if you like going down rabbit holes on searches

like Eloise does,

check out 10 Fascinating Things About David Attenborough.

From what I looked up tonight--he's 95 years old!

CLICK HERE

I hope you find your internal motivation to take the steps

necessary to help protect and preserve the external world.

Have a great weekend.

It looks like Sunday is going to be a beauty.

Eloise

Lesson 741: Reflection

I'll begin this Friday blog with some solemn reflection

as Christians spend Good Friday.

And as the sun rises on Saturday morning,

when most of my readers sip their coffee

and read this blog,

here are happy reflections of the past week.

The waters of the bay reflected a beautiful day

on Presque Isle with some of my students.

Here we are taking water samples,

learning how bacteria counts are taken.

It sure was a beautiful day!

The day after that--

not so much.

Natalie didn't care.

Double coats with the hoods up

and a blanket wrapped to protect her from the bitter wind

kept her snug for the baseball game.

#8 sure is great!

The dogs....not so great.

They want to run in the outfield and snag the balls.

They still got Easter cards from Grandma

despite their unruly behavior.

I spend lots of the year waiting outside the Senior High gym locker room

for Sam to get done with practice.

He stepped it up a little quicker when I told him

that Ellen came home from college and brought him treats

from the Edinboro chocolatier.

Here is Natalie's.

She is a nice sister!

The girls are working on supplies for their summer store!

And what is Eloise doing this weekend?
Still choosing a floor!
So many choices!

We've been picking at the choices for six months!

And today, we found one we could agree on!

I think most would agree that this is a great book!

I'm about halfway through and it's got me hooked!

These two cuties have me hooked, too!

Does anyone else follow Maia Knight,

Scout, and Violet?

And since I'm asking questions of you, Readers,

has anyone tried this at our mall yet?

Eloise is intrigued.

More on this skinny guy who keeps flying into my window:

The red Christmas ribbon and blue painter's tape weren't enough.

We had to call in a helper.

Joe Paterno seems to be doing the trick

of keeping the flap happy bird away.

Eloise was flap happy that we got to eat our Good Friday dinner out.

The Lamp Post will get a visit from Mr. E. Bunny on Sunday

because Natalie and Erik requested it at the

Sensory Friendly Easter Bunny hours at the Millcreek Mall last week.

The event was sponsored by the Speech Department of Edinboro University.

Although it's a solemn Friday,

let's end with a funny from Grandma.

Eloise