On a more personal note

I really debated with myself about writing such a personal post, but if we are really going to get to know each other, you need to know a little about my life.

Our whole town is buzzing these days with all the back to school activities going on - kids getting supplies and new clothes, early morning band practice (that I can hear in my backyard!) college kids moving into the dorms - the whole city is in a state of excitement!  And it is an exciting time, especially if you have kids returning to school after a long, hot summer.

But this year is the first time in 14 years that our son Brian will not be going back to school.  When he turned 22 this past March it made him ineligible for public school any longer.  It has been determined that no matter how disabled a child is, they should be ready for the real world by the age of 22.  Realistically, Brian will never be ready for the real world, on his own.   He could stay in public school til he was 62, and he would still be in need of constant care and attention.  He would still be as autistic then as he is now. 

Here's Brian at his graduation with Madi his best friend

It is because of his autism that Brian doesn't understand why he isn't back in school. All he really understands is that something has changed and life as he knows it is not the same.  We are one of the lucky families though because we have a program for Brian to enter into now that he's out of school.  It's possible that he may even end up liking this program as much as he did school, but that will take time.  This new program will be very different in that he won't have cute girls from regular ed wanting to work with him and he won't have his beloved aide Gina to greet him each day. He won't get to ride the bus every day or eat lunch in the cafeteria.  Some one else will take his spot at Big Lot's and his partner in PE will start working with another special ed kid.  No more visits to the attendance office to deliver daily reports and work on social skills, and no more long boring meetings going over IEP goals (but being the center of attention wasn't so bad!).  These things may not sound like much to us, but this has been Brian's whole life since he was 6.  It's all he has ever known.

Even Christmas Break could be stressful
 

 I wish I could make time stand still for Brian so he doesn't have to go through this painful transition, but that's really not possible or beneficial.  Change is going to always be here, and though change is particularly hard for people with autism we cannot protect them from it.  So pretty soon I will go to pick Brian up for Friday night hamburgers and the staff will tell me what a rough week he had and I'll notice the dark circles under his eyes and the broken blood vessels on his cheeks where he slapped himself repeatedly out of frustration.  We will try like crazy to keep things normal when he's home visiting, without really knowing what normal is for our family.  Our new normal, where Brian and his brothers have all moved away and it's hard to get everybody together at one time.  I will let him listen to music as long as he likes and we'll eat popcorn all afternoon.  And when he's ready to go back to his home, he will touch my arm and point to the door, sign language for 'I want to go home now'. 

Popcorn even at his brother's wedding!

Raising a child with any disability is difficult; it puts a lot of stress on a family.  When Brian was very young  I was encouraged by others that things would get better as he grew older.  And I guess I agree with that in some ways.  It's easier to make it through the day without caring for (essentially) a child in an adult body, one that doesn't speak, has major meltdowns multiple times a day, is self abusive and destructive to property, and who's mood shifts quicker than the weather here in north Texas.  In those ways things are better.  But under the surface we still stress over how he's doing and what his needs are, pray constantly for him and his future, and, we still grieve for the person he would have been without autism.

Thank you to all the parents, students and educators who have worked with Brian over the years.  He has achieved more than we ever thought possible.

A New Beginning

Last week was crazy hot here and what was I doing??  Moving.  Moving my booth from one location to another 10 miles away and 100+ temps.  It took three truck loads in my favorite pickup in the world. 

Have I mentioned how much I love my little truck?!

Thanks to my wonderful sons we got it done and everything is set up just like I want it.  And I actually made some sales this weekend!  That's what I call a good start. 

Ready to use Websters mixed with Valspar latex

I am still so excited about this new location.  It is a quaint little boutique on the square in Sanger, with twelve dealers offering a variety of product.   It's one of the nicest shops I've been in before!

I have painted and unpainted items for sale and, I will do a custom paint job on your own piece or one I find for you.

The concrete wall with that hideous unusual mural is proving to be problematic.  Since I can't paint it I will have to move on the plan B.  I hope there is a plan B

In no time I was able to fill the space up with my entire booth from Denton plus a lot of stuff from our garage (husband very happy).

 I'll need to add more lighting and try to add a roof with an old pallet, but the ceilings are really high so that might not happen.

We got off to a good start and I am looking forward to a long stay at http://www.lebleubonnetboutique.com/.  Have a great day!

Something old, something new at the Antique Mall

It is hard to believe it has been a year since I dove headfirst into my painting/picking business when I opened my first booth in an antique mall.  My spot was way in the back of the mall which suited me just fine.  I figured nobody would see what a novice I was if I hid in the back!

Six months in and I needed to make a decision - leave or stay.  You see, I wasn't selling an awful lot and my rent was beating me up. I had become a retailer for Websters Chalk Paint Powder (check it out here) but couldn't sell it in this mall because they have an exclusive with another chalk paint retailer. Sales in my Lewisville booth were going well, mainly because of the Websters. But our new manager had a solution: move my booth closer to the center of the mall, and start working the desk in exchange for rent.  Perfect!

So here I am, six more months and still sales aren't good.  I've learned a lot from the staff here and I enjoy working and getting to know the other dealers. I've made friends here.  My booth has never looked better, thanks to Cathy Lee!  But that hasn't changed my sales.

I have always heard that when one door shuts another one opens.  And that door swung wide open for exactly what I was looking for, a boutique.  More on that later!

So today I will sadly say goodbye to my first booth ever and adios to all my new friends.  But I will be back, because The Antique Gallery in Denton is one of my favorite places to shop! You should check them out sometime soon!