A note on our 10 year old whose middle name is Catherine (see right margin for her namesake).
Thorn has very kindly posted over on her blog about what my daughter said to me - and what I consider her role in bringing about our "miracle baby" (see posts below). I started to respond in Thorn's comments about something that happened with her tonight, and I'll expand a bit here.
This one, as many of you know by now, is our "Aspie." Last summer, after 6 years of me knowing something was not quite right (she's off-the-charts brilliant, but socially inept and immature), I finally got the tough-to-take but clear answer that I knew was coming - she has Asperger's Syndrome, which shares many symptoms with, but is not really a true form of, autism. Aspies are generally far more high-functioning than their "autie" counterparts, but they tend to be "square pegs" - essentially, she's your classic really smart but hopelessly nerdy kid.
When she was 2, she had a bad reaction (103-105* fever for 2 days) to "routine" immunizations. Ever since then, whenever she spikes a fever, she smells like metal. Back then I had no idea of any connection between Thimerosal (mercury-based preservative used in vaccines at that time) and autism/Aspergers. We'll save that for another time.
This kid is something else. She is by far the purest and most devout in our family - it just seems to be innate with her. This is why we lovingly tease her and call her our "little Therese." (Nice movie, BTW.) She has these unscripted "moments" (like the Infant of Prague locket and her Fatima apparition reenactments - LOL!) and sometimes she says the most inspired and remarkably wise things...well, it's almost otherworldly. (The next minute she's giggling because someone said "poop." Oh well...)
Just this evening after dinner, my 14 year old said something unusually and uncharacteristically mean to her little sister, which fired me right up. (Yeah, I am a bit overprotective of the one who struggles with social interactions, go figure.) So I sent the offender off to her room, comforted my wounded one, and then started upstairs to go at it one more time with the oldest.
However, my little "Therese" stopped me en route and said "Mamma, it's okay. I've forgiven her. And since I did, you should forgive her too. It's not good for your soul."
As I concluded in my comments to Thorn - I think I know, but I have to ask myself - WHERE does she get this?!?
Honestly, I am not seeking gratuitous back-pats here. Sure, we do our best to instill morals, values, and we lecture our kids about really living their Catholicism, but we aren't exactly floating around on clouds and quoting Scripture or the CCC at them. She takes it to a whole different level - it is truly amazing how her brilliant little mind, even as it is weighted down with her syndrome's tendency toward very literal, concrete thinking, just soars above and beyond our typical family's worldly clouds, toward divinity.
Things that make you wonder?
4 days ago
10 comments:
It's children such as these that Jesus must have had in mind when he said we must become like little children to enter the kingdom of God. You're very blessed to have such a daughter - she's trying to make saints of all of you, I think!
Kit,
Forgive me for not reading the post I am commenting on here.
Well here I is... Where shall we begin?
Communism in the Church? Masonic infiltration? The council on the council? Bugnini?
Well, whatever you think is a good place to begin.
Talk to you soon,
Steve Sanborn
Steve - you pick. Scroll down, though, to the appropriate post of May 1st (appropriate, since you're raising Communism, da?). My 10 year old has no idea what or who you're talking about in relation to this post.
...from the mouths of babes! Bless her, and you :)
AR xxx
My son has Asperger's too, but he tends toward the "vengeance is mine" side of things. I wish I could make his literalism veer in your daughter's general direction.
"she says the most inspired and remarkably wise things...well, it's almost otherworldly. (The next minute she's giggling because someone said "poop." Oh well...)"
Happens.
here.
daily.
They are also good at repeating every word Spongebob has ever said.
Reminds me of the thing you told us about - her reaction to her older sister's being given a "witchy" movie:
"Those movies offend the Lord!"
Bless her for having such a sharp eye on the prize!!!
Oh, and for the record, *I* even still occasionally giggle when someone says "poop". What can I say? Poop can be funny! :-p
Don't know what you're doing, but I'd keep doing it if I were you.
Do you think she could give online lessons in sisterly forgiveness to this lot?
How beautiful! Both of my kids are very delayed, so I'm not sure what we are looking at with them yet. We haven't vaccinated my kids at all since I went to a talk that Barbara Loe Fisher gave and decided against them for a variety of reasons.
Thank goodness for the little ones that bring Jesus to us and us to Jesus!
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