xmlns:og='http://ogp.me/ns#' Yeah. Good Times.: Singing thanks for the unsung heroes

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Singing thanks for the unsung heroes

The Me Gusta Turkey, stolen from reddit

Every year Thanksgiving, for me, is a two day cook-fest. On Wednesday I prep and chop my vegetables and get everything ready for the big day; I can do it all in one day, I just like to spread it out because it's fun for me; also so that I can start drinking as soon as the turkey goes into the oven. This year, however, I'm sick. Yeah, I've got a frickin' cold and I feel shitty on Day 1 of my Two Day Cookfest. Bummer. So, I can't really cook, I need to spend the day in bed getting better so that I can cook all day tomorrow, except there's no school today. Why is there no school today? Probably because a lot of people take this day off, anyway, and the district doesn't want to lose all that ADA money, so they just close the damn thing down and add another day at the end of the year. That would seriously piss me off if I had a regular 9-5 office job, but today it's just an inconvenience because I want to sleep but my kids are home and need entertainment; plus I need them to stay away from me so that I can sleep.

Luckily, however, I've got family in town; family who never get to see these children of mine, and who volunteered to come over this morning so that I could lie in bed and complain quietly to myself (and the Twitter world).

Now, your typical adult, I've found, has no idea what to do with a child who has autism. They ask questions like they would of any other kid, and when they don't get an answer that they're expecting, I think they kind of panic. "What am I supposed to do now??" So, it's one thing to volunteer to hang out with the NT 5 year old who asks a million questions and constantly chatters on and on with insightful and hilarious comments, but another, entirely, to volunteer to hang out with the autistic 8 year old who doesn't answer your questions, who talks in an inaudible mumble most of the time and who only cares about BART trains. It's rare that I encounter an adult, who not only "gets it," but who feels at ease with the kid with the obvious differences, and when I do, I feel compelled to sing their praises.

So, I would like to do just that for both of my cousins, who are awesome and wonderful people, and in particular my cousin Emily, because she is not only not afraid of the autism and the weirdness, she enthusiastically took him out on a BART ride while I lay in bed, quietly complaining to myself (and to Twitter). I wish she lived closer. THANK YOU!



13 comments:

Pie Maker said...

So glad you have your awesome cousins to help rescue your cookfest. I feel the same about this holiday and deliberatly make it a two day cookfest for the SAME reasons. I can certainly get behind a holiday where the main mission is to stuff your face! I hope the rest works and you enjoy the day!

Kelli said...

There are a few *Emilys* in my life. It's something to be thankful for... Emily, don't ever change!!

jillsmo said...

There's something pretty special about your love of cooking for 2 days being validated by someone named "Pie Maker" :)

Lynn said...

Yay Emily! Yeah, why DO they have today off? Like this ungodly weekend isn't long enough. You can still drink while you're sick right?

tulpen said...

Yay for people who GET IT!!!

Happy13 said...

Are they available for the east coast and how much do they charge?

Dani G said...

I had to read this post twice because the first time I saw "Thanksgiving, for me, is a two-day COCKfest."
I re-read it and it all makes sense now.

I wish I had a cousin or two who "got it"

jillsmo said...

Okay, that was funny.

Big Daddy Autism said...

Again with the cold?

I like where Dani G's mind is at.

We once had a babysitter who "got it" and was totally able to engage Griff when she sat for us. It's a rare find.

Getrealmommy said...

So sorry you are sick for the big Turkey day. If it makes you feel any better I have morning sickness and also can't drink. What kind of freaking holiday is that?

Thanks for following me on getrealmama. I am follwing you now as well.

Happy Thanksgiving and GET BETTER!

Caryn said...

You have to know that if I were closer to you I would TOTALLY be over there, feeding you liquor and entertaining the kidlets (if only to see your scary dirty car in person, and reverently touch the famous frying pan *thwock*). BUT, yay Emily! I'm so glad she's there for you... and for the 8yr old. I cooked for two days, too. But our Thanksgiving is over, thank God.

Anonymous said...

So sorry you're sick on Thanksgiving! Hope lots of turkey and sweet potato pie made you feel better.

And glad your cousin was there to help out. You are lucky to have her:)

(going back to twitter now)

Unknown said...

As the aforementioned Emily I have to add that I not only LOVE MY CUZ JILL but I also love C1 and will happily talk to him about trains or elevators or bridges or the highways of South San Francisco for as long as he will let me. ♥ ♥ ♥ (We need not mention how awesome C2 is here; that goes without saying.)

Also that WAS the best fucking gravy ever. And, Dear Readers, Jill also made a KICK-ASS turkey, and stuffing, and a cheesy cauliflower pie that was C1's definite favorite.

Happy thanksgiving, Cousins!

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