Poolside puzzle piece
Practically every week, Doran goes with his aide to see his friend Ben. Ben's mom, Darlene, has been inviting the whole family to come over for the longest time. I worried that with Doran's weekly visit we would wear out our welcome - plus we do have four kids. Luckily for us, Darlene is a sweet and brave soul.
She and her family live with autism also. She understands how hard it is to get out of the house, the challenges of keeping children with autism safe on outings, as well as helping them navigate social situations. Depending on the child, a family can be rather limited on where they can go and what they can do for fun. Recognizing this, Darlene set to turning her home into "the place", a sort of oasis for Ben, their family and friends. The children can enjoy the outside and the parents can relax too.
Our family joined hers at The Oasis Friday evening. It was heavenly. The children played in the water, ate goo-gobs of pizza and watermelon. The adults has some conversation with each other, some Sam Adams Irish Red and what pizza the kids didn't run through. I was amazed by how much these little kids could put down.
Cookies from A Little Something Bakery for dessert . . . You can find the bakery here: http://alittlesomethingbakery.com/
Benny took several quick breaks from the pool to eat. Darlene said that he even showed more interest in staying in the hot tub while the other kids were in it. It was lovely watching the kids enjoy each other.
We had an awesome time!
