Not a good blogger

OK, I haven't been a good blogger - nothing posted since last November.

That's not to say there's been nothing to write about. I just wasn't sure anyone would actually be interested in reading any of it. I know I said this was for myself and I didn't care if anybody read it; but then I started asking myself what was the point of spending time on a blog? Life got in the road - last year's chicken massacre, neighbours crashing through our fence and dealing with the insurance company for months (!), work, family, autism, Christmas, New Year, wedding anniversary, birthdays, art, my i-Pad, cutting up timber for the winter, watching movies and TV shows, Pinterest, more fox attacks -- you get the point -- all the same things everyone else deals with. So it's all stored away - on notes, sheets of  paper (much to Kelly's annoyance) and diary pages and in my head.

Plus I finally decided to check out Twitter in February and have spent most my spare time on there, quickly becoming addicted and discovering lots of really great people. My autism family on Twitter is very special to me and everyone is supportive of each other. I thought I learned a lot reading blogs around this time last year. However, Twitter has been a real eye-opener and I can't believe how many similar people there are with similar experiences, similar doubts and similar concerns.

My Twitter timeline is just as eclectic as my life - tweeting about #autism, #art, #Sharks (not the #Sharknado type), #Will, #work, the #TDF, #chickens, #cactus, #TV, #movies, #work and so on.

I used to think I was the only person in the world who thought like I did, who had strange addictions, who made lists, who had to have complete sets of that addiction and so on. No, there are lots of others who have been doing the same thing for as long as I have! Yes, I find that amazing, earth-shattering almost but mainly a relief.

When I was diagnosed with Aspergers, it was a relief. I know some people can't handle hearing the diagnosis but for me it was a relief. It was like a veil had been lifted and I finally knew there was a reason at least for the way I thought and felt and dealt with life. It explained so much about my childhood, my troubles at school and the agony of trying to fit in.

Will's diagnosis of autism two months earlier was a similar relief which some people might find odd. There was no sense in denying it. There was no sense in trying to blame someone or something (Andrew Wakefield and "vaccination causes autism" nuts rile me like nothing else on the planet). We missed out on accessing early-intervention programs but Kelly and I had been doing our own early intervention with Will without even knowing it. But, as I said, it was a relief because it explained so much. I always wondered why Will would never say "hello" to other kids at school for example. Autism explained why that, and so much more, was so.

Life as I know it sometimes doesn't make sense so it's good to find some answers!