Pressing Puzzles

Way back in my posting #26 Raining Cats and Dogs, I spoke about all the animals we had in the house and how the animals were therapy for the twins. Since they have Asperger's, psychologists feel that people with our condition would be helped if we had an animal for therapeutic reasons. I'm not the biggest fan of animals because I'm usually the one who has to clean up after their messes. I'm not sure how therapeutic that would be for me cleaning after pee or poop 'accidents'. However, this event is one that really deserved a special posting all by itself. If you were able to read the 26th posting, you would know who Sheba was. I'm very sad to report that on September 25th, 2015, Jaimee and I had to make the grueling decision to put Sheba down. Sheba was 16 years old. As an owner, you know these moments are going to come yet you never seemed to be prepared for that time when you have to put the animal to sleep. Jaimee and I have had to put down other anim...

I realize that rebuke tends to be a more biblical term, but it can reach much further than a simple reference in the Bible. I learned an interesting lesson about rebuking, it's not as easy as it seems. Webster's Dictionary defines rebuke as   " to speak in an angry and critical way to (someone) " I can see how and why the dictionary defined it as such, but I feel like the dictionary didn't quite get this word properly defined. I would almost say this this definition is meant for 'chastising' than 'rebuking'. I would define rebuking as 'a method of correcting one's decisions in a critical manner.' Anger is involved but, not in the way the definition uses it.  I can recall on many occasions when I was rebuke quite often from people that are close to me. The big problem with Asperger's is even though a friend or family member might warn me about something that I did wrong; there are times when I'll do it again. Thus, I would b...

I wanted to pause for a moment to insert a very special moment in my life. On July 26th, 2013 1:34 in the afternoon, my oldest daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Her name is Sophia Kaye Guyles. This is my first grandchild and to me a very special person in my life. I realize many of you that read this blog might already be a grandparent and so with that I must tip my hat to you. I honestly have no idea what is to come, but I am rather excited. There are many times I have to wonder what do I do? How can I be the best grandparent? I think sometimes I do worry about my Asperger's and what kind of effect that might have on my newest member. I will say that I not concerned whether or not Sophia will be autistic because I'll love her just way she is...just like my children. I just know that I want to make sure that she understands that my wife, children and I will always be there for her, but most importantly...Jesus will be there for her. She will hear what the Lo...

Here's a real tough issue that I've semi addressed in a blog or two. Before I was taking medication for my mood stabilizer, I rarely had given self-image a lot of thought. As I've mention before, I was teased a lot when I was younger and they tried to demoralize the way I looked, dressed or spoke; but I didn't give it much creed. I believe a little push with self-image can be beneficial if it improves your life. The Lord does say that our body's are a temple and we to take care of it, but we can't obsesses over our imagine. It wasn't until I was a little older that I tried a little harder to make myself look better for the girls.  I guess if I allowed the tease to really affect me then I might have been typing this blog as we speak. Society seems to believe that most females have the hardest time with self-image. To be honest, this is a concept that I'm still gaining a real understanding for how girls get their image. Is it the words I say? Is it my ...

I thought this would be good around Valentine’s Day . I know I've addressed my marriage in general and the love I have for my wife, but in some way this would be part 2. Making a commitment by far is very difficult to do...and mean it! As I've mentioned before I've always tried to make it a point to follow through on any promise and boy is that hard to do. Trying to make a promise to the one you love is even harder! I love the line "for better or for worse..." and of course the two of you stand there together saying your vows, you're not really thinking about the "worse" part of the sentence just the better half. Anyone who has been married knows that at some point, there is always a worse part. I realize no one ever wants to talk about it, but it really is a test to any person’s commitment and marriage. In my case, we've lost family members, had illnesses, had to separate for job reasons, been broke (money) several times; so going through the...

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I love my wife. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be married. To be honest, my tale of love was rather strange as a child. I was very self-aware of women very early in life, for example, I had cut out a picture of a woman in a bra and then proceeded to color in Superman symbols around her when I was 6 years old. I was really young when I had my first kiss, granted I tricked the very lovely young lady, but I got it! We were downstairs in my house and I told the girl to pretend to be a patient and I was going to be the doctor. (You can almost tell how this was going to end.) I remember being really excited, but nervous. I took a second to look at how beautiful she was; then I leaned down and kissed her right on the lips! Of course, right after that she got mad and left, but it was awesome. When I was in middle school, I did have one female admirer, but I also had the bully who liked her too, but she ended up liking someone else...I got stuck w...

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...