Piece #80 - Happy Birthday?

If you've read any of my previous posts then you know that November 6th is my birthday. It is a little ironic that I write this on my birthday. The reason I'm writing this is because as an adult with Asperger's, birthdays used to be very special to me, not just the fact it reminded me how old I was, but I guess I liked it because it was all about me. In some small way, I saw my birthday as a more special time than Christmas when I was young. For some crazy reason, I can still remember a moment when I had turned 7, I was climbing a tree in the front yard and just thinking that it was my birthday and I knew what was going to happen. I do remember a few times when I was little older, getting to go to Showbiz Pizza Place (it's now known as Chuck E. Cheese) and boy did I have a blast! Lots of arcade games, games that you could win tickets to get free stuff and they had an animatronic show with all the mechanical animals singing like the ones you see at theme parks. As for the pizza, I guess it was okay, it really didn't matter to me. I can't remember which birthday it was, but probably my most favorite cake when I was younger was a Batman cake with plastic bats surrounding the cake and on top was a Batman figure who was ready to leap over a fence I believe. I just thought that was the coldest cake I had ever seen.

It's kind of funny that I really can't remember a lot of the gifts I had received over the years because I tend to get them confused with Christmas and Easter presents. I was always excited about the gifts because that was the biggest reward about having a birthday. Don't get me wrong, I did like having grandparents there or best friends to celebrate with, but hands down the presents were what I would tend to fixate on. (Love that OCD!) Of course, as I have gotten older, a lot of that has changed.

I know that most people still tend to really whoop it up when it's their birthday, but those are the kind of people who are big partiers. There is nothing wrong with older people like myself to go celebrate, but that's just not me because I just feel uncomfortable in those situations. There is a little part of me that is happy that it's my birthday, but it is nowhere near like it used to be. In a tiny way, I actually miss those times, not the fact that I was a lot younger, but the great times I had as a kid. I am a little disappointed that I can't remember all of my birthdays having autism, but I do remember some of them and pictures help with my bad memory. I know my wife would always like to do something special, but generally we would do too much...maybe dinner and/or a movie. Jaimee really does want to really celebrate, but when it comes to her birthday...not so much. I will say that one of my proudest times with Jaimee's birthday was that I actually through her a surprise party with all of our friends when we still lived in southern Missouri. Jaimee had turned 30 that year and I wanted to make it really special. I learned a valuable lesson from that experience...surprise parties are very hard to arrange!!!

In my perspective about birthdays is that you only get to be that age one time, for a year and then it's over. I really try to make each year mean something positive and reflect on what I might have done right and what I might have screwed up on. It is a passage of time that we never get back and do want to make the most of it. I would try to see the positive, but there have been too many times when I look back in frustration because something may not have turned out like I had hoped it would or I really missed an opportunity that I will never get again. I can truly say that my birthday has changed a great deal to me, but I still try to have a little fun.

{Election Day will fall on my birthday and we've elected several presidents on that day like Lincoln, Eisenhower and Obama. Daylight Savings Time has ended on my birthday. If today is your birthday too then we share it with Sally Fields, Rebecca Romijn, Emma Stone, Maria Shriver, Ethan Hawke, etc.}

Song of Inspiration (Check it out on iTunes or Android!):

Song: "Heart Attack"

Artist: Manafest

Album: Fighter

I simply picked this song because I love it and it is my birthday!!! It is an awesome song and here's the video...or a least a few pics with the song...sorry.

Sorry, I had to have Deadpool!

Piece #111 - First Impressions

"You already know that making a good first impression can go a long way. But forget all the advice you've received about dressing to impress or putting on a cheesy smile. Turns out, the true secret to building a lasting connection reaches much deeper than what you wear." "According to Amy Cuddy, a Harvard Business School professor who has researched first impressions for more than 15 years, everyone (consciously or subconsciously) asks two questions when they meeting someone new: Can I trust this person? And can I respect this person?" This quote comes from Reader's Digest and I actually found this rather compelling because I never really heard of this before. I've addressed this topic of first impressions in the past but, I have to admit that this idea is interesting. I guess since you hear a lot of things from a smile, the outfit or what you say make the difference; however these two questions have me a little perplexed. I think it depends on the ...

Piece #1 - The Beginning

I guess like embarking on any puzzle, it must always starts with the first piece. So to begin, I have Asperger's Syndrome, in other words I'm Autistic, and so this literature will be about my struggles with this disorder as an adult. I was first diagnosed back in the summer of 2004. If it wasn't for my twin daughters, I might not have ever known all the questions I have ever had in life; to them, I will always be in their debt. Growing up, you are never really aware of any differences until the judgment years...6th thru 12th grade of school. A time when one always tests their own humanity against others; meaning, how will I measure up against other students. In my eyes I seemed to be just like them; two arms and legs, ten fingers and toes, head and body...nothing unusual. Yet, for some reason, I was treated a little different than everyone else. That's one of those things that you can't quite put your finger on, but I observed on many occasions how kids would talk...

Piece #12 - "Temper, Temper."

Anger is a learned behavior. When we come into this world, we comprehend how to react to things by watching others. One of my many...many weaknesses has always been my anger. As you can tell I enjoy writing and whenever I've written in my characters for a story, at least one would have an anger issue. The story I'm currently writing now called Horizon, the main character Miko has problems with her rage. It's something she'll have to deal with throughout the entire story. I guess in many ways it's a reflection on how I've had to handle it. Early in our marriage, I had warned my wife that I would need her help in making sure I wouldn’t let the anger get ahold of me, for the main reason...the kids. I love my girls way too much for them to pick up the same bad habit. Yes, I obviously understand that we all get angry from time to time. ( Even Jesus got angry when merchants were selling their items in the temple .) I'm talking about an extreme anger when in many ...

Pressing Puzzles

Search This Blog