Do you ever just look at a snapshot of your life, and think --- every decision,
whether big or small, led me directly here. Right here. Right now. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. We've had a lot of significant changes to our lives in the past few years, and of course like everyone else, the last month as well.
I'm a huge believer that things are put in our path at a
very specific time, just when we need a change. Even if, at that specific time, you have no idea how to turn those lemons into lemonade, and you just can't understand why things are happening the way they are. Below is one example.
I know this is a blog about autism, and about Vicki. But it's also a way for me to show how autism has affected our whole family. You will have to forgive me. I can't remember what I made for breakfast this morning, let alone what I posted in this blog a year ago, So, if this is a repeat, feel free to smile and nod and think about your grandparents telling you the same stories over and over again. Those stories must hold some special meaning. And as time goes by, the stories change a bit. Maybe because they couldn't remember exactly what happened anymore, or maybe because the passage of time gives us the gift of reflection and the things that have happened in your life take on new meaning as you understand them and reflect on them. Or you just can't remember. Either way, smile and nod. :)
Almost 2 and a half years ago (wow, that's crazy it's been that long already!) our youngest daughter, Ally, started having some medical issues. At first, she was just feeling dizzy, and then she started fainting at school and ended up having to go to the ER a few times. Then, almost daily, I was having to go pick her up from school because of it. Long story, short... she went through a lot of testing and was eventually diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) and put on medication and changed up her lifestyle (ie... tons more water, salt, frequent breaks, more sleep, more core exercises, etc....) Along the way, she had to finish out her 7th grade school year at home. Then for 8th grade, she had a teacher come to the house for school. And this past school year, for 9th grade, we made the decision to homeschool. It was not an easy decision, but in the end, we all felt like it was the right one for Ally. Fast forward to today. She is thriving. She is completely off her medication for POTS and she knows her body and how to adjust if she has any symptoms. She loves the homeschool model we chose and has had no real disruption to her routine or schooling since the outbreak of this virus, with the exception of her brother and sister now being home too.
When all of Ally's medical issues ramped up, Vicki was also going through a lot: a lot of seizures, a lot of behaviors, and she had broken her leg. So everything was very stressful. I wanted to give Ally a break one day. So, I talked to a friend of mine who is a make-up artist, and we planned a photoshoot for Ally. Something to take her mind off everything that was going on and just get pampered and have a day that was full of fun girly stuff, a day just for her. Think 80's glamour shots, but way cooler, and less hairspray. :) We did the photoshoot. It was absolutely perfect. Everything I wanted for Ally and more.
She came home after that photoshoot, and she was like, 'Oh, my gosh. That was the best day ever! I loved it so much! You know... I wouldn't mind doing that again sometime.' (with a sly little smile playing on her face). And, so began her love of modeling. She hasn't slowed down since. She loves everything about it: from photoshoots to runway shows, to meeting new people and learning more about the industry.
And had Ally not been diagnosed with POTS, which eventually led to the decision to homeschool, we may have never done a photoshoot for her. And she may never have known that modeling is what she is passionate about, what she absolutely loves. But how do we pursue something that requires such a time commitment and a lot of scheduling? With Vicki's transition issues still at the forefront, and Vicki's anxiety ramping up so much, how do we try it? Because for years we've had such difficulty trying to get either Joe or Ally to activities/sports/social gatherings...
Since I'm behind a few days already on my blog posts, let's call this Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2 (which will discuss how we have managed to get Ally to model calls and shoots and fashion shows in the throws of very difficult medical issues and behaviors with Vicki). And also Part 3, which is really interesting, because I sat down this morning to write this post before I got Vicki up for the day, and some things that went on today with Vicki relate directly to this topic. I thought it was very interesting.
And, because I am a very proud momma, some shameless promotion for Ally:
She has a public modeling page on Instagram @ ally.rosette
and I am super proud of what she is doing. She manages it all on her own and works really hard at creating content that she is proud of. You should head over to her page and see what she posted on World Autism Day this year (she came up with the idea and the post all on her own).
Love to you all. And thanks for coming back this year to read. xoxo
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