Aussie land? Mais, je suis.

I envy him. In Hunter's world, everything happens the way he wants it to, and if it doesn't, he moves on.
He wants to go to Australia? He's going to Australia. He realizes it costs money? No big deal, he's going to play his harmonica for money and then go.
Dad won't let him out of the house to play his harmonica? No problem. He goes on youtube and it's all better.
He is self-content, not relying on others for his happiness. He could go days with out communicating with anyone, and it wouldn't make a difference to him, not at all.
Disappointment doesn't last long in Hunter's world. Neither does sadness. He's mostly a little ball of happiness and energy.
Yes, I envy him.

But then I think about to other side of it..he can't tell you how others are feeling. he doesn't feel empathy. He doesn't feel guilt. His emotions can be categorized as either "happy" or "momentarily sad." He doesn't have words for anything else he feels. Mostly, it's happiness.

He lives in the moment. He isn't thinking about the future, he isn't thinking about something that happened 2 years ago. He's thinking about now.

I envy him sometimes, I really do.

A brief but meaningful story as told by Hunter.

Hunter, being the little doll that he is, wanted to tell "scary stories" before bedtime tonight....his fiercest?

Hunter: (takes falshlight and shines it up under his face) Once upon a time there was a cousin named Girl....and she was all alone forever.
Me: ......
Hunter: Your supposed to say AHHHHHHHHHH Girl, that's the scary part.


My nine year old autistic cousin knows I'm going to be alone for my entire life. And he's right - that may in fact be the scariest story I've ever heard.

It's getting hot in here.

The world is changing.

That seems almost ridiculous to type. The world is constantly changing. The plates underneath us are moving, the oceans are growing and shrinking. The trees are growing, babies are growing. The world is constantly moving, changing, growing.

And it's getting hotter too.

October 15 is Blog Action Day - where over 1000 bloggers from 140 different countries commit to blogging about a single topic - to inspire change.
This year, 2009, the topic is Climate Change.

I recognize that this is a hot topic. One that even the students in my preschool class were aware of. Last year, during Earth Day, we did a unit on taking care of our planet. And why its important.

"We need to take care of Earth because it is our home."
"If we don't take care of Earth, we won't have places to live."
"Earth is like our baby dolls. We have to share so everyone can have some."
"If the Earth gets hotter like my lunch, can we eat it?"
"We have to recycle so that we don't have to cut down more trees."
"That's why we don't waste paper."
"Is earth going to blow up like Transformers movie?"

The Earth is changing. The climate is getting warmer. Is it natural progression or are humans causing it? There's evidence that shows both.

But does it really matter what the cause is? Shouldn't we be doing everything in our power to slow it down, to save and conserve as many natural resources as possible, if only to preserve it for future generations?

If my three year olds can recognize the simplicity of it - SHARE - why can't we?
let's NOT use all the oil to power our cars so that future generations will have some.
let's NOT send the Earth into another ice age so that future generations will be able to enjoy the beautiful fall and spring weather.

And if all else fails, maybe the Earth will blow up like in the Transformers movie.

A brief but meaningful conversation with Elly.

I've babysat for this particular family for 3 years - the oldest, Elly, is almost 11. The middle girl, Anna, is 7 and the baby, Jane, is almost 3. Elly is probably the smartest child I have ever met in my entire life.
As a (relevant) example, a conversation we had during Jamie Lynn Spears' hayday went something like this.
(while watching Zoey 101)
Elly: Ms. Girl, do you know that Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant?
Me: yes...
Elly: And that she is only 16?
Me: yes....
(cue Anna: stopping her homework to watch the conversation)
Elly: One of my friends from school said that was a bad choice.
Me: Well, yeah.
Elly: Well, how is it a choice?
Me: Wh-what do you mean, Ells?
Elly: How is it a choice?
Me: That's a really good question for your mom. Why don't you ask her when she comes home? Who wants ice cream?
Elly: I already asked her.
Me: And what did she say?
Elly: I'm not telling you. I want you to tell me first?
Me: Why?
Elly: To make sure you say the same thing.
(cue Janie crying)
Me: Oh, there's the baby! I better go make sure she is ok!

fast forward to last week...
Elly: Do you remember me asking you about Jamie Lynn Spears?
Me: Yes...
Elly: My mom finally told me the truth.*
Me: Well that's good...
Elly: Why didn't you tell me?
Me: because you're mom can explain it better.
Elly: I don't think so.
Me: Why?
Elly: I don't think she knows what she's talking about.