Riding in the car with dad

Howdy! Life here has been fairly uneventful. Have continued to go to the gym to voluntarily have my ass kicked into shape-literally. I am proud of how well we have been doing with the new gym routine and really making efforts to go and make better choices. I can't say I have seen any great weight loss, but I know I feel better--except the days after I meet with Christian and I am so sore I can hardly move--

DP has started orientation for her new job and she seems so happy at this new opportunity. I am thankful she has finally gotten her chance to get out of the "Happy Home" we both worked in. I knew she wasn't happy for a long time-but she stayed so I could have health benefits while I finished school. I just love that girl.

We went to a gathering if lesbians in the area and while we were by far the youngest couple there, we had a great time eating, chatting, and playing games. We struggle to find people like us who we can get together with since we are not much into the drinking/bar scene.

Now, for the topic at hand. Tomorrow I will go to my dad's house and he and I will drive to the town/state where I lived for the first 11 years of my life. I don't remember much about the area and we have talked for years about him taking me there to show me around. It is not like we are going to a nice suburban area-no, we are going to the hood. In fact, that is why we moved to wooded, quiet, suburban location they chose. There were no gun toting drug dealers for neighbors in the new town/state. In any case, I am welcoming the opportunity to spend time with my father, as well as being able to see the place I lived and where I spent time at my grandmothers and granny and pop pop's house.

Dad always has lots of stories, and I feel like I was one of those bratty kids who thought their parent's stories were dumb and they should just shut-up. On the contrary now I am looking for ways in which I can get my dad/mom to tell more stories about their life and growing up. I found these journals called "Between you and me" and they can be for a daughter/son to give mom/dad, or wife to husband-you get the point. They ask questions like what were your favorite memories of your mother/father, what did you want to be when you grew up, what was it like when I was born, what are you most proud of, what do you regret. I got one for mom and dad. I am excited to see what they will have to say.

They also have the grandkid this week, and he will come along with us while we drive around. Little Tyke is so damn cute-though he needs some socialization with other kids. They have the mother in law watching him and he has no clue how to play nice with other kids, and he is getting to the age where doing things like spitting out your food and hitting is not so cute. I know he is only 2 1/2, but still, he needs to learn that other people live in his world and he needs to be nice to them. Of course, I am simply glad most of the time that he seems to be developing as he should.

Working in the world of autism, you start to think after a while that everyone is autistic. Then you spend some time with a typically developing kid and you realize that the things autistic children and their family face are so challenging at times--I can hardly stand my job sometimes--having to tell people their kids are autistic. Here you go, take this life changing diagnosis and have a great day. We have a set of twins coming in a few weeks, and from the look for their paperwork we may be giving this family a double dose of crappy news.

And why did I want to be a social worker again??

Oh well, enough of my ramblings for the day.