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THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER FOR AUTISTIC INTERPRETATIONS®
Welcome! I am Val. My adult daughter Jess and I live together and have a loving and fun relationship. We share our daily adventures, travels, struggles, and the strong loving village that surrounds us.
Seven days in a week, sure, but seven days in October? Hear me out as I suggest we had seven days in October: Grieving, Anxious, Disney, Foody, Alive, Bragitude, and Ordinary. Read on, I hope you enjoy this recap.
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED IN OCTOBER
Grieving Days
While we are still missing Jessica’s beloved Aunt Sue, we also said good bye to our beloved dog Abby. Abby was part of our family for nearly 12 years and we miss her very much. Jessica was part of the decision to determine that it was time for Abby and we’re thankful that Jessica has had time to prepare including bonding with Zoe.
We held a small funeral for Abby in hopes that it will help Jessica find some closure. It’s going to take time. Jessica processes things by talking them out, and it has been a frequent topic in our livestreams as Jess shares the news with #goodones. In this video with Marlow you can see her explain it as napping forever.
Abby enriched Jessica’s and my life in many ways. The most important one being companionship that helped to reduce loneliness.
Anxious Days
With the losses over the last couple of months, it’s understandable we’ve seen a little more anxiety. The reality is also that anxiety is part of our daily lives. Disruption to routines is a frequent source of anxiety as we shared in this bideo of Jess processing a change in Hannah’s routine.
Some of your follow-up questions and comments gave me an opportunity to explain that keeping things from Jess is often not an option. We live in a small house and Jessica is very perceptive. Anxiety is often further complicated by Jessica’s expressive communication disorder. If you are interested to learn more about that, check out this October Q&A.
Disney Days
We’ve been looking forward to a family trip to Walt Disney World all year. It was the first time in a long time that BadDaddy and I and our three kids, Jessica, Madison, and Hannah enjoyed a vacation together.
Disney World is our happy place. As usual we enjoyed the rides, the sights, and the food. If you missed it, check out our highlights from the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. To our delight, our hotel reservation was upgraded due to overbooking. This time we stayed at Art of Animation.
As always there were plenty of rides and plenty of walking. I’m going to find a new pair of walking shoes! I also shared this bideo of a Jess favorite, “Impressions de France”. There aren’t many things that hold Jessica’s attention for 18 minutes, but this is one and we enjoy watching her take it all in.
Foody Days
As most of our #goodone followers know, we like food! On our recent trip to Disney World, we tried lots more food than usual. We even dedicated a whole Instagram Reel to our delicious discoveries. We also made two “What’s the Deal” restaurant reviews: ‘Nine Dragons’ restaurant in the China Pavilion at Epcot (delicious, we all agreed!) and the pricey, but good, Liberty Tavern.
Of course we also had shared some cooking bideos in October: Hannah’s stuffed peppers and a pumpkin pie experiment. And, a special treat was when my son, Madison, made the biscuits.
We can’t wait to share Nonnie’s cookbook with you in November.
On the topic of eating, if you’ve always wondered about Jess and those big bites, check out this Q&A. As always, it’s complicated.
“Alive” Days
YouTube Livestreams. Instagram Lives. Jessica calls them “Alives”. And it’s actually not a bad name for them. These are incredibly important to Jess and have made probably the biggest difference in her recent progress. As my son, Madison (who knows a thing or two about brains as a neurology specialist), has explained: social interactions are great for stimulating continued cognitive development. Even something as simple as learning people’s names. Jessica’s world has opened so much. “Give the brain the best chance” is what Madison said recently and thank you all for supporting Jessica’s progress.
Our Thank You Thursdays are not just about opening packages. Though of course we are appreciative of #goodones’ generosity and kindness, but they are also a wonderful opportunity to connect with you all! In October I made a Q&A about thank-yous and prompting generally.
Every Tuesday we have a “meeting” with our Club Crispy members and those smaller meetings we catch up with each other. Jessica has an incredible memory and loves to hear updates on pets and other loved ones. Another special treat was my son Madison joined us for one of our Tuesday meetings. You won’t see much of Madison and his wife Sarah on social media, because they prefer a more private life.
Bragitude Days
It’s our third year of doing a 30-day ‘Bragitude Challenge’. This year we made it open to everyone and I’m so inspired by all of your comments. I’m posting on the blog, Instagram, and Facebook and I hope you’ll consider joining in, even if only for a day or two. Or, just read the comments and be encouraged.
As I mentioned in the blog that kicked off our challenge, finding the small daily brags can be challenging, but I’m committed and I’ve got all of you to keep me on track for this annual mental tune-up leading into Thanksgiving.
Ordinary Days
And finally, ‘Ordinary Days‘. As much as I enjoy adventures, it’s the simple joys that really fulfill me. Whether it’s a visit with Mama Jo, sledding with Hannah, Jess making chicken nuggets, or even me giving Jessica a haircut, and as so many of you agreed, bring on the ordinary days!
HERE’S THE PLAN
November
30-day Bragitude challenge wrap-up
Cooking with Nonnie, cookbook edition!
House projects
December
Vlogmas!
Cooking with Nonnie’s cookbook
More adventures
FAQ
DO WE HAVE A YOUTUBE CHANNEL?
WHAT DOES JESSICA SEE?
HAS JESS ALWAYS TALKED?
WHY DID WE START CLUB CRISPY?
FOR YOUR CALENDAR
- NOV 01 – Monthly Cook for your Pets Day
- NOV 04 – Use Your Common Sense Day
- NOV 07 – Daylight Savings ends
- NOV 09 – National Fried Chicken Sandwich Day
- NOV 11 – Veterans Day
- NOV 13 – World Kindness Day
- NOV 15 – National Clean Out Your Fridge Day
- NOV 18 – National Princess Day
- NOV 18 – Mickey & Minnie Birthdays
- NOV 22 – Go For a Ride Day
- NOV 25 – Thanksgiving Day
- NOV 27 Small Business Saturday
Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for following along in our journey! We enjoy sharing our joyful life with you all, and love knowing all of the various ways our story and videos help others.
If you like what we are doing at Autistic Interpretations and would like to help us continue to make videos, please check out https://autisticinterpretations.com/join-club-crispy/.
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