Penny for Your Thoughts
“What’s up, Seanie? Did you have a good day?” I dream that someday my severely autistic younger son will answer me. A quickly snapped, “Yes!” is a practiced response intended to satisfy his questioner without necessarily conveying meaning. Even on his most difficult days, his automatic answer to, “How do you feel?” is “Happy!” Our son is very intelligent in many ways, but struggles with language make it difficult for him to verbalize details about feeling sick, angry or sad. This has to be frustrating for him. For us parents, seeing signs that he’s ill or in pain without further clues can be heart-wrenching. Disheartening as communication challenges are, just being together without talking can be a great pleasure. When on a beach, forest trail, or park path walking with Sean, he doesn’t have to say anything. He holds my hand as I point to big waves crashing on the shore, or dramatic light on the horizon. Walking in a beautiful place together makes the day’s troubles fade. May we all find a simple pleasure that temporarily melts away life’s stresses. Keep putting one foot forward! This week’s HikingAutism Hike Notes from the archives is Rockaway Beach via Calera Creek Path, a Pacifica walk that our family loves for its combination of grassy fields and stunning ocean views. This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives: (Original Hike Notes 44): Rockaway Beach via Calera Creek Path Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes and photo galleries via the main Hikes page or the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite walks from readers! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Check the Home page for the broader background story. Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
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In the Distance
The solid, blocky shapes and brownish gray texture lines of trees looming in the foreground capture our eyes before we notice the reddish orange bridge enveloped in fog in the background. Once visually recognized, the hazy image of the bridge in the distance becomes a dominant element. When I’m overwhelmed with work deadlines or caregiving issues, I sometimes forget to look at the sky and trees. The close-up stresses and strains of daily life keep me from stepping back to look at the bigger picture. Focusing on “Just getting through the day” might prevent us from looking at long term goals, or acknowledging progress we’ve made so far. We may be overlooking an opportunity to reimagine steps to a brighter future. Remember to stop, breathe, and take another look. Absorbing the broader view may reveal a source of comfort and motivation. Keep putting one foot forward! This week’s Hike Notes, Tunnel Tops-The Presidio, introduces a long-awaited park area that was in the planning for many years and now offers a variety of visiting facilities along with grand views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the San Francisco city skyline. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism New this week: Hike Notes 166: Tunnel Tops-The Presidio Messages In the Sky
Across a river, dark shapes reflect at the water’s edge. In the far distance, centered on a tall tower, a city skyline stands out from a misty orange-yellow orb, glowing like the heart of the city. Rising above the luminous center, gray and white clouds intermix until they clear at the top to a lovely blue. It is the moment of enchantment when day becomes evening, when dark shadows intermingle with bright blue sky. My son was sharing a video shot from a skyscraper looking across the Thames before he heard that the Queen had passed away. “It’s like the London sky is paying tribute,” I said. One needn’t be a fan of the monarchy to be moved by Elizabeth’s passing. Perhaps we interpret nature’s imagery in cloud patterns and shades of light to reflect our own state of mind, but I felt magically uplifted as I looked at that horizon. Nature offers abundant sensory experiences, including an ever-changing sky. Thick fog, clear vibrant blue, foreboding dark clouds, or puffs of white rising high above, each has a unique appeal and creates its own mood. As noted in last week’s Insights post, the World Walks section of HikingAutism is a way to vicariously experience walks shared from beyond the Northern California hikes I write about. On my recent visit to England, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself experiencing another of the World Walks my brother shared in the past. This time we walked in the lovely forest at Bacton Wood, with a break in the trees opening to a grand blue sky with white puffy clouds rising above a row of trees in the distance. I often feel that nature is communicating in some way, whether it’s a raven talking from a nearby tree, leaves scuffling across a path in the wind, or fog blowing past in thick waves. May we all take the time to stop and absorb what the elements around us are saying, even if it is not translatable to words. This week’s HikingAutism hike from the archives is a World Walks share from England, Bacton Wood, a lovely forest area in Norfolk with many trails to choose from. This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives: (Original World Walks): Bacton Wood (from England) Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes and photo galleries via the main Hikes page or the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite walks from readers! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Check the Home page for the broader background story. Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism Other Continents, Other Times
Once a world traveler, 25 years had passed since my last trip abroad. Despite my intentions to share international adventures with my children, a trip with my infant and toddler sons to visit my husband’s family in Japan in the late 1990s was my last venture outside the US—until a week and a half ago. Caregivers often have difficulty finding even an hour to themselves. Traveling anywhere—whether to visit family or for the elusive concept of a vacation—can feel like an impossible dream. It was also 15 years since my beloved oldest brother—living a busy life in England—and I met in person. Then last year our older son was given the opportunity to live and work in London. With our severely autistic son requiring full time care, the thought that either of us parents would ever travel abroad again seemed impossible. And when might age and health issues truly restrict our movements close to home? The wisdom of our older son—insisting that we needed to take turns with one parent traveling while the other holds down the fort at home for a few days—blossomed into the reality of me traveling to England to see my brother on the Norfolk coast and to see the sights of London with my son. The World Walks section of HikingAutism is a way for myself and readers to vicariously experience distant places in the world. Miraculously, I found myself looking for fossils on the beach while catching up on old times on one of the World Walks my brother had shared. To fellow caregivers who feel there is no way to do something beyond your daily norm: Be creative and persistent in finding a way to allow yourself a break. You deserve it, and it may be more possible than you believe. This week’s HikingAutism hike from the archives is a World Walks share from England, Happisburgh Beach, a beach walk that not only offers lovely views but also holds a treasure trove of fossils, from mammoth tusks to the oldest human footprints found outside of Africa. This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives: (Original World Walks): Happisburgh Beach (from England) Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes and photo galleries via the main Hikes page or the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite walks from readers! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Check the Home page for the broader background story. Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism |
Lisa LouisSharing insights and hiking highlights (Hikes, Hike Search by Area) from the special needs caregiver front in San Francisco. Archives
November 2024
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