FRIENDS
Having a child with autism decidedly changes your understanding of many concepts, including that of friendship. For Henry, a child whom he is content to sit next to and occasionally glance at counts as his friend. Here he is with his friend Hazel. A relatively new definition of a friend for me is someone who will invite me and all my children to their house and graciously acommodate Henry's differences. I feel lucky to have a goodly number of such folks in my life.

I was on the phone to my friend Katie yesterday and mentioned that Henry's afternoon babysitter had canceled, Paul was playing soccer and it was a wet gray afternoon which precluded playground visits and we were all going a little stir crazy. She promptly invited us all over, even though she is in the middle of a major house renovation and a thousand other things as well. It was a huge relief to get out of the house and see some different faces for a few hours, have a cup of tea and some "grown-up" conversation, while keeping Henry amused at the same time. As for Katie, my grandmother would say "She'll get HER crown in heaven!"