Resolute

I forget obvious things sometimes.

I think we all do.

I forget that wherever you go, there you are. I forget that my magical thinking does not, in fact, determine the spinning of the planets. I forget that you don't really "know" the life or experience of someone else just because you read their FB page -- or their blog.

And I sometimes worry other people forget too.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I use social networking in the way that works for me -- I put the worst stuff here on my blog without our names on it and the best stuff on Facebook, which gets back to my mother even though she doesn't even own a computer -- and I feel like it's all honest, it's all sincere and true, but it's all just individual slivers of complex life. Now, that last long sentence might seem obvious, but since I forget obvious things, and I thought it might be worth sharing.

We can't compare. Our experiences are our own, and they aren't simple, and there is almost always a good and a bad and many, many shades in between, and myriad ways to see it all.

Here are some more obvious things I consider worth sharing, and remembering:

• Autism is not just one thing. It is not good or bad, it is just part of a person, and part of my son, my beautiful son, Rooster. 
• Guilt and envy are completely wasted emotions that bring no rewards and look very ugly in the mirror, while love and joy are jackpots that radiate beautifully from whoever embraces them. 
• Life is short, so the best way to savor it is to be present exactly where you are, and look for the good. 
• If you stumble, struggle, suffer, or vent, you are not a failure, you are a real person; just try to get back up as soon as you can, and do what you can to keep your sense of humor.
• Despite the shortness of the list, these can all be hard things to remember, so it's good to write them down and re-read them when we need them. 

Happy New Year from Casa De Rooster and Peaches