(Editor’s note: I run this piece every year, it just seems to sum up everything. I hope you enjoy it!)
We made a gingerbread house today, my youngest and me. Not the fancy
version mind you, with its cinnamon-spiced cookie walls and sticky-sweet
icing for snow, but the felt version, as I have yet to figure out how
to create an edible construct that’s gluten and casein-free. The form
doesn’t seem to matter to Zach however, as he seems content just to
forge this linen building with craft glue and discretely adhered masking
tape. He is simply happy to sit at our designated table with his mommy,
and design his own.
I am thrilled to be here with him as well, as this is the first
“Christmas house” we have built together, and the added bonus is it
conjures up the requisite images of festive architecture from my
childhood past, pleasant in their remembrance. As I sit with him and
attempt to gain better purchase on the tiny chair I am well aware of the
enormity of this gift, the ability to carry on a tradition with my
child, one who is eager and willing to perform it with me, one who
miraculously was able to request its creation.
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It’s the last month of the year, and as always, just like the
commencement of the school year, it’s a time of reflection for me. I
consider where we’ve been and where we now reside as I help Zachary
fabricate his house, watch him carefully separate out the pieces of his
one-dimensional art form with such care, and manipulate the tiny forms
with such ease. He desires to begin at the top of his home and work his
way down, and as I’ve never been one to insist on coloring in the lines
we alter our blueprint a little, an act we’ve committed time and time
again in our tiny family of four.
He begins with the roof, which he tells me firmly we require because
“it will keep everyone warm and cozy”. As I contemplate how he’s
incorporated the latter adjective into his lexicon of words I am
simultaneously reminded of the outpouring of care and compassion we’ve
received over the years, the small and grand acts of largesse, and the
kind words both spoken and written to encourage our clan in times of
conflict. These acts have blanketed us, permitted this family to retain
the heat, the fire necessary to forge through the most searingly
difficult times. We could not have built our own home without them.
Once the roof is safely adhered Zach moves onto the windows, neatly
punching through the cloth panes of glass to afford us a glimpse of the
other side, allowing us to widen our view. I recall how watching my
youngest son’s language expand, and my oldest son’s increasing desire
for social interaction, have both enabled me to envision a different
world for my children this year. We now inhabit a home in which the
future may hold more than just fleeting glimpses of a “normal”
childhood, one in which both of them may actually one day possess a true
friend. I am so grateful for that expanded vista, for the possibilities
inherent in those translucent frames.
Finally, Zach addresses the foundation, shoring up the edges with his
tiny fingers immersed in solvent, asking me if his careful
ministrations are correct. I smile and tell him his house is lovely, as
in its own way, is our own. Our foundation has also been conceived in
patience, moored in consistency, cemented in love. It’s not seamless,
and there will always be cracks. But it will continue to stand.
It will always stand.
And my wish for all of you in every year to come, is that your own
house, no matter how it’s constructed or what form it takes, will
continue to stand, wind and weather-battered, as magnificently strong as
ours.
(I’d like to take just a quick moment to extend my immense gratitude
to all of my readers this year. I am so appreciative of the time taken both to read my
missives and to comment on them, and your continued loyalty. Happy holidays to all!)
For more on my family visit my blog at autismmommytherapist.wordpress.com
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