Where a husband and wife blog to: continue the story told in a book called Dancing in Cornmeal: Life with Autism; enhance the conversation about autism; relieve a writer's need to write; inspire (when the stuff here is really good); network; and share - especially recipes that follow the SCD and Paleo diets. See "Welcome" under TOPICS for a better description, then just keep reading along...

Monday, January 16, 2012

Craig's Intro

Today, Craig and I set up this blog so that it isn’t just mine. It’s now both of ours. It’s even a family blog. Lauren doesn’t type yet, but maybe our older daughter, Bryn, will even contribute someday! The change was made because we hope to share what’s worked for Lauren and for our family. That includes the new way we eat, and a bunch of fabulous recipes. But Craig is chief cook (and fabulous chef in the making) in this house, so it seemed wrong for him to have to pass his info to the blog through me. Particularly as his perspective is different from mine, and sometimes his perspective and wording is priceless. Who am I to act as a sieve between him and the world? So, as better intro to “who Craig is,” here is his first post. Enjoy!
Nannette


I’ve often heard that life is an adventure, but for me I think it’s more of a mission. Not just any mission, but a critical mission. I consider life’s mission much like Apollo 13 and the famous phrase “Failure is not an option.” I have two wonderful daughters, Bryn and Lauren. When they were little, our family appeared to be ready for life’s adventure and the typical things two girls move through from toddlerhood through becoming adult young women. Much like the engineers, controllers and astronauts of the Apollo 13 spacecraft, we anticipated a typical mission like many predecessors had successfully manned before us. Usual safety and technological protocols were in place, so using the best equipment, and with careful watch, the mission should go as planned. For Apollo 13, that plan included a simple landing of man on the moon for the third time. For my wife Nannette and I, the plan for our daughters included high school, probably college, marriage, grandkids and other things most typical parents experience.

Two days into the Apollo 13 mission, an oxygen tank exploded changing the best laid plans from what was expected, landing on the moon, into one of the greatest rescue missions the world has experienced. Although the famous phrase, “Failure is not an option” is more movie lore than reality, the engineers and mission controllers believed it and knew the lives of the men on that craft were in their hands.

Twenty months into the life of Lauren, she was diagnosed with autism, changing the expectations of parents with two typical daughters into one of the greatest rescue missions most people will never see. Failure is not an option is what Nannette, Bryn and I believe. We know that Lauren’s life being lived to her fullest and happiest is in our hands. My hope is that, like the movie and mission, when our credits finally role, our happy ending is worthy of an inspirational James Horner theme song.