Everywhere you go..

I had a fabulous time taking Bernie to the race track last night. We were both excited although he was fighting a nap the whole way there. As soon as he saw it from the highway he perked up and was good to go. I knew he'd love it but wasn't sure how he'd do in a stand full of people....and with the noise. A week earlier I picked up some noise-muffling headphones and was quite pleased to see hordes of other people wearing the same exact ones....Us parents of these amazing children know and are delighted time and again that our kids are different (like when the little brat at the park yesterday morning shouted, "MOVE! Get out of my way!" My B would never say that.), but we don't always want to appear that way in public.

So we made our way to a spot that wasn't too high up and wasn't yet filled with people and settled in without any concerns, on my part, of dealing with a squirmy nine month old or a squirmy higher-maintenance Autistic 4 year old. This is why they weren't invited. And honestly, I don't think Bernie would've been ready for the experience at the age of four either.

Cars started heating up, making the rounds. The B started in on his "Cars" and "Cars 2" dialogue....with himself. I pointed out the tow trucks in the middle which he naturally likened to Mater. The stands started filling up around us, and a cute family of 5 took the bench right in front of us. It took about two minutes for me to realize the oldest child was quite Autistic. He started with a gentle slap of the bench....and then another, and another, and another. And then the hitting of his ears and slapping of his face, and finally the incessant "sit DOWN!" from the mother. The parents took turns leaving to smoke, and would always return at a steadfast pace as is typical of us parents....no dilly-dallying allowed....you're needed! To their advantage, the middle child was a girl and also seemed to be needed and had her hands filled with her older and younger brothers. They didn't last as long as we did, but then again, I certainly didn't expect them to either. We stayed until the B finally answered "Yes" to repeated questioning of wanting to go home. At that point, rain was falling and it was questionable whether the intermission was going to end...and after 10 p.m.. Neither the crowds or noise bothered him in the least. He was snoring in the car five minutes into the ride.

If 1 out of 88 boys are Autistic, you're going to see it virtually over and over again in any crowd.