"Tackle-Time!!!"

When Brendon was little, around 2 1/2 or 3 years old, we invented a little game called "Tackle-Time." In our little Victorian home in NE Portland, Brendon would go to the far side of our kitchen and I would sit outside the kitchen in our little living room. I would say "Tackle-Time!!" and he would run all full speed to me, and I would catch him and then fall over. We would tickle each other, laughing and then we would start all over again. The excitement on his little face was priceless, and this will always be one of my fondest memories.

Needless to say, I had hoped to repeat this moment with my second son, Calvin. But, with his autism, there never seemed to be any chance of this ever happening. Calvin just turned 6 last week, and he has been growing in his speech and understanding thanks to his mother's relentless work with him.

Last night, however, I was home playing with Calvin on the floor in the living room. He was excited that I was home from work and wanted to be with me. So, taking full advantage of this attention, we were busy playing with cars. Soon, that led to us rolling and throwing cars down the hallway of our current house.
Calvin ran down the hallway to get a car, and the memory of the tackling game came back to me. I told Calvin to go to the end of the hallway, and he fussed a bit, but he obeyed. Then, when he looked at me, I told him to come and tackle me! He paused, and I repeated that I wanted him to run to me. He ran to me full speed and I caught him in my arms, falling gently backwards. I tickled him, laughing together, and we repeated the game. I would say "Tackle-Time!!" and he would run to me. We did this so many times, that I finally got tired and Calvin was ok that we stopped the game.

Later on, I began to feel the joy that came from finally having this special interaction with Calvin. The same pride and joy that I felt seeing Brendon run to me, his father, I now had felt with Calvin as well. When you have "typical" kids, it's easy to look over those milestones. Having an autistic child definitely has made me value each and every interaction.

Also, Brendon has been reading a Peter Pan book, and it is very large...several hundred pages. I started reading the book with him every night, then I missed a few nights when he read by himself. Luiza took over the reading with Brendon before bed each night, and she fell in love with the story. So the last few nights she has been reading to him. We all read for over an hour together last night, snuggled up under blankets downstairs on the couches. It was very fun. Brendon is still at a great age where magic can be found in his imagination.

I don't want to forget to add that Calvin started saying "Come to think about it." haha. It's so cute, because he uses that phrase when he really wants our attention. E.g. "Come to think about it, I want to play Wii." He also has started to tell people "Look at me" like Luiza and I tell him all the time. Then when we were shopping for groceries, he was pretending to be in trouble with me, and he said, "This is terrible!" That was a new word for him too.

We're seeing many stride with Calvin, and he loves to be with us. That is good, although sometimes overwhelming (especially by bedtime). Brendon has blossomed under Luiza's direction at homeschooling. He really is finding himself and figuring out who he is, what he likes, etc., without having to try to be someone to impress other kids in his class. He is showing a lot of interest in art, reading and just being a 10 year old. He'll be 11 soon, which means I'm getting older too!