Well it has been a while since my last post. I have caught up on my sleep after coming back from Europe and in full work and Brandon mode. I miss hanging out on the French Riviera. What a life that would be. Ahhh. But back to Austin. It has been crazy busy here. I have been traveling some for work and starting the legislative process of reading all those darn bills.
Brandon is now in month 4 of transition. In the weeks leading up to the trip to Europe, Brandon was very emotional about me leaving for 11 days with many days of crying and calling his mom. It was really tough leaving. But once I left and with a few text messages, Brandon did fairly well. He was glad I was back and we were back to our routine. The routine is for Brandon to stay at the condo during the week with Chris his companion while he is at school, and to come to Dripping Springs with me on the weekend. This is going really well. Brandon is happy, has not been emotional, and does not object to coming to either place as long as he knows in advance the schedule. We all spend a great deal of time working on making sure we all have the same schedule. Brandon has an IPAD and we have loaded Cozi on all of our devices to have a family calendar. I am learning all his new apps. I have also downloaded Autismate to see if we can use this app for modules helping Brandon with daily activity chores. This will be my Christmas break project. I wish I had a young computer geek hanging out here to help me. Oh well.
More good news! With the help of Brandon’s transition team at UT, Brandon will start a new job at UT in January. This is great because it meets many of Brandon's work requirements. He will help sort and deliver mail as his main job and will get a great deal of socialization. A Win Win for everyone. We are working hard on Brandon interacting with other people, saying greetings, asking how the other person is doing, etc. UT has a great environment for Brandon to develop job skills while working on socialization with peers his own age. He will still continue one day at Seton and we will try to still work at the Beatles Show at Koop.
Brandon and I went to Dallas over Thanksgiving to see Brandon’s brother Patrick. I posted on the blog on 10/4/10 about Brandon’s brother Patrick. Patrick is a really special kid. Of course I still call him a kid even though he is 30. Brandon really loves Patrick and so do I. The day before I left for Europe, Patrick found out that he would be leaving to go to Iraq for military duty for a 1 year tour. Of course Brandon, Patrick’s mom Peggy and I are all concerned, but we all support Patrick and his commitment to serving his country through the Air Force. Peggy threw Patrick a great going away party in Dallas and we drove up to be with Patrick. Brandon has his own way of communicating with Patrick. I think they both just “get” each other and for Brandon he just wants Patrick near to him.
Patrick and Brandon chillin'
Brandon was glad to see Patrick and did not complain about the
drive. Patrick is also a major Dallas
cowboy fan. I wanted Patrick to have a
great week with his mom and his girlfriend Kaitlin. The company I work for (UnitedHealthcare)
managed to get Patrick and Kaitlin great seats for the Thanksgiving Dallas game
and I got Patrick, Kaitin and Peggy special passes for the pre-game (the day
before) taping for the Red Kettle fundraiser and rehearsal of Kenney Chesney’s
half-time show. They all had a great
time and I think it took Patrick’s mind off Iraq at least for a few days. Here are some pictures.
Patrick and Kaitlin
Patrick and Kaitlin with Charles Haley (I had to look him up)
We are all so proud of Patrick and hope he is safe during
his tour. I see lots of care packages in
his future. Patrick we love you and
already miss you. Take care of
yourself.
More later
Leah
No comments:
Post a Comment