http://www.change.org/petitions/new-york-state-department-of-education-support-bill-number-s7618-my-son-is-counting-on-it

If you have a loved one on the autism spectrum or if you are moved by this issue at all for any reason, please consider signing this petition.  The boy, Max, is my cousin.  He’s an amazing young man who is doing SO well at a school in Connecticut that exposes him and his classmates to the arts.  He and his family are from NY, and every year they have to fight a legal battle in order to keep Max in his school.  Students on the autism spectrum sometimes have very specific needs in their educational environment; often it is not as simple as just finding an appropriate school in your home state.  This petition therefore asks NY senators to consider action that would allow students and families to continue out of state special education programs year after year without a legal hassle if the child’s needs are effectively being addressed by the current program.  Please consider signing; this issue is not only about Max’s future, but it is about the future of our society! I strongly believe that every child deserves a fair shot at contributing and participating in the growth of our world.  Help Max get his fair shot by adding your signature to this petition! 

http://www.change.org/petitions/new-york-state-department-of-education-support-bill-number-s7618-my-son-is-counting-on-it

…but I don’t have too many followers, so I think it’s alright.

We just had what I would call our first really terrible, life-altering fight.  It’s over now, we made up, and I think that we’re going to be okay.  But wow.  That really hurt.  I physically felt like I had knives twisting in my stomach.

Some people say that you have to get into at least one really ugly fight with your fiancé before you get married.  I really hope that can be our one and only fight (aside from normal bickering, of course).

I feel so strange and exhausted now.  Love isn’t as easy as some people would have you think it is.  I guess, aside from venting, that’s one of the reasons why I’m writing this down…I think that there’s something important to learn from it.  This is my first real relationship.  Before it started, the idea of mutual love was something that I only imagined and admired from the outside.  It seemed like finding love would bring me to a level of existence beyond real life; some form of nirvana.  

I want to say that love is not anything outside of real life; it IS real life.  Sometimes it exalts you, sometimes it makes you hesitate; it is gritty and filled with challenges, but also with rewards.  You still experience the same range of emotions…the only difference is that they are all multiplied by two.  

Love doesn’t mean never having a sour moment or a fight; it means getting through ALL of it together and being a more compassionate person by the time it’s over.

Here’s to love, and to being better people tomorrow.