RainMan.

I had to put Grace to bed before 7pm tonite. There is only so much you can do to keep her awake sometimes and she seemed very tired early in the afternoon. I found "Rain Man" on one of the HD movie channels. I remembered it watching it years ago, PAA, (pre Autism Awareness.) My awareness. I found myself wanting to smack Tom Cruise's character, Charlie Babbit, for the way he treated his autistic older brother (played by Dustin Hoffman).
Then I thought of myself when I first saw this movie. I remember people making fun of Raymond, the Rain Man. 1988 seems many moons ago. Pay phones, bad hair, no personal electronics. Another world.

Needless to say, I thought of Gracie when I saw Raymond. She is doing amazing things right now. Her learning process has been ignited and she is on a wild ride. But, as a parent, you can't help but wonder... What will things be like for her in her future? How will others treat her? How will other school kids treat her for that matter?

When that happy face looks at me and smiles proudly:
When she actually looks in my eyes for approval:
It just amazes me.
It just takes a little extra effort,
                  a little extra patience,
                                                to understand.
When Charlie took the time, he began to understand Raymond. He began to love him.
How many people are willing to take that time?
Many more people are aware of Autism today. But that doesn't mean they understand it.
You don't, do you, unless you live it.