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Piece #43 - April


If "November" was going to be the title of my autobiography then "April" would be the sequel. If you've been reading the blog for a while, you would understand why I would do this. But, for those who are new here are the reasons. To start, my beautiful wife's birthday is in April. Back on April 13, 1989, I took Jaimee out on a date for her birthday. We first caught an early movie then we went to the Pepper Corn Duck Club (Which sadly isn't there anymore!). The Duck Club was one the best restaurants in Kansas City. (By the way, I did have their duck.) It really was a perfect evening, but that was nothing in comparison to the finale of the night. After we were done with dinner, I took Jaimee to a park near one of the fountains that we have all over the city. (KC is known as the city of fountains...no kidding!) I sat Jaimee on a bench and then I knelt now and asked her to be my wife. The whole proposal thing was really tricky because I wanted it to be a place she'd never forget but, I didn't want it to be cheesy either. I did mention this in an earlier posting that happened to us, but it was also in April when the Oklahoma City Bombing incident had happened too.

Another interesting event that happens all month long is the Awareness of Autism. April was chosen to be the month of Autism Awareness which now as a lot of irony to it. Of course, Jaimee and I had no idea that when we got married and had children the last two would be autistic; or I for that matter! I'm sure as you've read that all of these blogs are committed to giving everyone my perspective on life through my disability. I think it would only be fair for all people to understand what the condition is like; to be honest it can be rather frustrating. I have to admit it's a difficult life. How in the world my wife can still stay married to me in really unknown. Of course, having the twins in the house as well can make things a little crazy around here.

As for holidays, the three that usually show up are April Fools, Earth Day and Easter. Being a teacher, I dread April Fool's Day in a school full of crazy teenagers...do I really need to say anymore? Although, there was one year I had middle school students and they had me twisted into a pretzel that year, so that morning on April 1st I decided to pull the perfect prank and it all started with a tie. I have no idea where I got the tie from, but like it or not I owned a SpongeBob Square Pants tie. So I put on the tie, changed my ring tone to the theme song, got to school extra early to then make lots of photocopies! I hung all around the room pictures of SpongeBob and on the copies it said "Happy SpongeBob Square Pants Day!" Each hour as the classes came in I warmly wished them a Happy SpongeBob Day and I would hand out pictures they could color at their desks and I even thought I might show the SpongeBob movie. I guess the word spread and by the time one of my late classes had entered and sat down, THEY actually sang happy birthday to SpongeBob!!! I couldn't believe it! I had to wait until the last class of the day to tell them April Fool's because I knew the word would get out and ruin everything. Needless to say, the next day a young 7th girl came up to me with a sour look on her face and said to me rather grudgingly, "That wasn't very funny Mr. Wheat." then she walked off. I almost fell down laughing; that was a classic moment. It was so hilarious, but still...I'm not a big fan of April Fool's Day. (By the way, I do still have the tie.)  With me and my Asperger's, Earth Day just sounds silly; I would rank it right up there with Groundhog Day. I understand the meaning, but do we really need a day for that?

And then there's Easter...generally this holiday falls in April and sometimes on my wife's birthday, but there is no other holiday with more personal meaning to me than this one. If it wasn't for this day, there would be no such thing as Christianity. For this religion to happen, Jesus had to rise from the dead! (And No, I don't mean a zombie!) If you've read any of the other postings that I've written, you'll know actually where I stand with the holiday. I think what some people fail to realize is that Jesus is the ONLY person who showed us that there really is a heaven and if you believe in Jesus in your heart then you will join him as well. Remember, no other person in history ever came back from the dead! Easter reminds us of the assurance that there is an afterlife...that there is HOPE, in a world that seems hopeless. It's always nice to be reminded of what Jesus did on that cross. If you ever have any questions, you're always welcome to email me. I may have Asperger's Syndrome, but I'm no dummy...I know the truth, and you can too.


Song of Inspiration [Check it out on iTunes or Android!]:

Song: "Hold Me Now"

Artist: Red

Album: Release the Panic





This is one of the wild flowers that blooms every April out in our backyard. Hope springs Eternal!




Here's the video from my song of inspiration. This is an outstanding song from RED!
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