It's official

There are two things I want to discuss in this particular blog.  Both topics will have a resounding effect on mine and my family's lives.  These two subjects have been in the forefront of our lives for the past few weeks and even months.  I think it is just time to get into it.

The first thing is my career.  Yes, I said career.  Working is no longer a job for me.  I have advanced so quickly in such a short amount of time that I could most likely go to any fast food joint and get a General Manager's position.  Friday is my unofficial last day at Burger King.  I have a few vacation days that I am taking to finish off my two weeks notice.  My final day with BK is Monday, March 12, 2012.  However, Friday is my final working day.  I will miss most of the people that I work with at my little store in Trafalgar.  There are one or two that I really don't give a crap about, but I will miss most every one.  Josh, Lilly, Christin, Cameron, Simone, Andrea and Larry.  We've had a pretty good run, and made some tremendous strides with our small corner of the BK galaxy.  Number 1 in Speed of Service in our district.  Number 1 in Speed of Service in the state of Indiana.  And Top 10 in Speed of Service for the Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky area.  That's something to be proud of.  And not to mention that we whupped Amanda and Whiteland's back side rather handily!  HA!  Thank you to all who worked so hard to turn our speed around.  Be proud of what you did.  Be pleased with yourselves, and don't ever take your foot off the gas pedal.  I love you guys, and I will miss you so much!

The next thing is something that has been very prominent and dominating in our lives since November.  Our youngest son, Cullen Jean.  Today the lady who evaluated Cullen for Asperger's Syndrome called and spoke with Amanda.  She told her that she presented her findings to the Diagnosis Team and after reviewing Cullen's case and hearing what the evaluator had to say and what she discovered within minutes of interviewing us, the clinical psychologists have officially diagnosed Cullen Jean with Asperger's Syndrome.  It is 100%, in stone and rock solid diagnosis.

So what does this diagnosis mean for our family then?  Absolutely NOTHING!  We will work with Centerstone to come up with a plan for a balanced and healthy life for Cullen.  They will give us tips, tools and advice for helping him adjust to what makes no sense to him in this world.  There is no cure.  Nor do I wish for there to be a cure for our son.  He is who he is.  To find a "cure" for him would change who he is forever.  That is not what we want.  We just want him to learn to be a well adjusted, creative, funny, clever member of society!  With Asperger's Syndrome, one of their conditions is that there are things in this world that just do not make sense to them.  Our son is a classic case of that.  He cannot fathom, comprehend or even begin to think that his words or actions can have severe consequences, or any kind of consequences at all.  His brain, regardless of how intelligent he is, and he is, just cannot process those types of thoughts.  There are other traits and habits that he has that places him under the Autism Umbrella that make him unique and who he is, such as nuclear meltdowns over things that you and I would just be slightly frustrated with and dismiss just as easily.  Again, things that his brain just cannot process normally.

Most would just toss him aside and say he has anger management issues.  Most would just punish him as a trouble maker.  They do that because of their ignorance.  I forgive them for their ignorance, but I will never forget.

That being said, I wanna let you all know that it's pretty cool to be an Aspie!  Here is a list of some famous people who were diagnosed or believed to have Asperger's Syndrome.  They are, directors Stanley Kubrick, Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg, painter Andy Warhol, computer genius Bill Gates, authors Lewis Carroll, Jonathon Swift and Emily Dickinson, scientists Nikola Tesla, Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, United States Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln and video game creator Satoshi Tajiri.  I know a lot of you don't know the last person.  He is the man who invented Cullen's all time favorite thing.  POKEMON!  Cullen really thought that was incredible.  Suddenly, he didn't feel like an outcast or a trouble maker.  Now it all made sense to him and he is okay with it.  That is all we want.  Acceptance.  That is all that anyone who is diagnosed under the Autism Umbrella wants.  Know this, there is no cure.  There will never be a cure.  Anyone with any sort of Autism does not want a cure.  They just want one thing.  And that is to be accepted.