Clearing the debris after "hurricane" Thomas

Oh boy, what a week, what a week... My dear friend Thomas and his mum paid us a visit. A visit that we're definitely going to remember for a very long time! He was soooo thrilled to see me back after all these months that he nearly stormed past me in his enthusiasm at the airport. But then he gave me the warmest "hello" I've received in ages. Even though it was his very first time in an aircraft (let alone going abroad), he was very brave and even encouraged his mum (who wasn't quite as brave at first but in the end also thoroughly enjoyed the flight). It was a moment we've both looked forward to for so long, and there it was. The not-so-little-anymore lad jumped with joy because of this whole week without worries, far away from pestering administrations, a new school (for the 8th time), a new appartment (for the umpteenth time), being beaten up and a shipload of family problems. One thing was almost as important to him than seeing me though, and that was visiting a real Roman amphitheater. So we drove all the way to Verona because there we would find the nearest of these ancient buildings which is still in a very good state. Obviously, not-so-little Thomas knew everything about amphitheaters so he gladly showed us around like if he were a professional guide!





But that wasn't nearly all! Thomas's birthday is next month, but nevertheless Christine insisted that we'd already celebrate it during his visit. So she baked him a cake. And what a cake! She even sculpted Tabaluga, his favourite cuddle, out of sugar paste...

And on Friday we went all the way up one of the mountains. Well, not quite up to the top because Thomas was suffering too much from the high wind, but he nevertheless reached 1.700m! Can you see how proud he was? :-)



That being said, the visit wasn't all roses. Apart from being autistic, I suspect that Thomas is also endowed with some form of ADHD, just like his mum. I want to be very careful with this because I know all too well how easy it is to make a wrong diagnosis and of course I'm not a doctor. But Thomas was just... too much for Christine and I to handle. Always talking, humming, singing and jumping about... Obviously he was so enthusiastic about this holiday, but it had to be more than just that because I've never met an autistic person with, let's just say, so much energy. Today, Thomas and his mum have returned home and Christine and I are totally wasted. Up to a point that we feel it would take us at least a month to recover from the terrible amount of stress we've had to endure this entire week. It's all so sad, really, because Thomas is such a great kid and the very best friend you could ever imagine. Anyway, I'll take a bit of rest right now, get the batteries recharged and then see how it goes. Thomas will be returning in two months, so we'd better be prepared! :-D

At least someone wasn't bothered by Thomas' enthusiasm...

Campaign for a better understanding of autism?

The Flemish Autism Society (http://www.autismevlaanderen.be/) has recently launched a new poster campaign and are even running for the renowned "solidarity prize", issued by one of the leading Flemish newspapers to reward the best campaign supporting a better and more tolerant society. The poster is a cartoon, combining the two protagonists in the Belgian political crisis, Bart De Wever of the Flemish Nationalist Party and Elio Di Rupo of the Walloon Socialist Party. The header reads: "stereotype of an autistic person?" and at the bottom left it reads:

1. Doesn't consider somebody else's feelings

2. Doesn't take the initiative to or doesn't participate in the discussions

3. Resists heavily to change

4. Leaves the initiative to contact to someone else

5. Is strongly attached to certain objects

This was published full-page in the newspaper with the enormous header: "Campaign depicts Bart De Wever and Elio Di Rupo as autistic persons".

I'll give you a second or two to make your own interpretations.

Now, bear in mind that I'm autistic. This means that I'm incapable of reading "hidden messages" or "ironic interpretations". The way I see it, is that those two politicians (who after more than a year still haven't come to an agreement for reasons which I shan't explain here) must be autistic because they can't reach a compromise etc. Hilarious! Our politicians are autistic! Or, in other words, this campaign reinforces the known stereotypes about autism in stead of tearing them down, which is what the Flemish Autism Society are trying to make us believe.

Well, I'm terribly hurt by this campaign. Also because I'm a fond supporter of Bart De Wever because he's the first Flemish politician in 180 years who doesn't bow his head for the incessant Walloon demands. But that's personal.

Am I exaggerating? Am I seeing things? Am I growing mad? I'll leave the verdict up to you...

We have a new lodger

Last Thursday evening we had to go to the vet's urgently because Canelle wasn't feeling very well. She was constantly vomiting, didn't eat or drink anymore and was clearly in pain. In the end, she turned out to have a severe infection in her stomach and intestines and had to be kept on a drip against dehydration. With tears in our eyes we had to leave her there, the poor thing...  

But while we were sitting in the vet's office during the examination, we noticed that all of his animal cages were filled with little kittens, 3 of which had been abandoned and found by the road. One in particular immediately attracted our attention, poking his grey little muzzle as far as he could through the bars and indicating with his tiny paws that he wanted to play. Which I obviously did. He was just soooo cute and friendly... I had great difficulties putting him back in his cage when we returned home. The next day we went back there to see how Canelle was doing and... exactly the same story. Eventually Christine persuaded me not to get too attached to the little kitten because we already have four cats to look after. But I just couldn't forget that poor little sod. So after a lot of moaning and grunting, Christine succumbed and yesterday evening we went back to the vet's in order to collect him. :-)

I named him Tobi, which is indeed quite close to "Thomas", but I couldn't think of anything else that so much reflected his high an playful spirit. So here he is... barely 6-7 weeks old. Nevertheless he already managed to scare the living wits out of Flora, even though she must be at least 5 times as big. But he charged at her like a brave knight and she was forced to withdraw. :-) Hopefully he'll become the protector of our domain now because Flora and our two Norwegians are just too... cowardly..., even though they're so big and Canelle can be a real fury but she's simply too small to make an impression on some of these stray cats that roam the neighbourhood. 

Welcome, little Tobi!