2003-10-08
8:43 p.m.

Broadmuda Triangle: Annie

Broadmuda Triangle: Annie

One thing I know for sure. Life is short. You must find out who you are and what you love and live your life to the fullest.

My current life began 3 years ago at age 31. I left behind a life I didn�t love. For the past 10 years, in addition to a job in the corporate world, I had been doing respite care for my life-long best friend and her children who have autism. It was the most rewarding 4 hours of my week. Why be rewarded for only 4 hours?

I now work full-time in her home. I help her family manage life with their 10-year-old identical twin boys who have severe autism. I spend my evenings and weekends in a strange and mysterious world. A world that is populated with silent children, children who don�t understand the world around them, children who need advocates and more important children who need friends. I am their friend. I am their bridge to the world in which they have to live, a world that doesn�t always accommodate or accept them. Some evenings it�s a beautiful place where I feel honored to see life through their eyes, and on other nights it�s a dark and painful place littered with excess fear and anger.

Autism Awareness Lapel Pin

Autism is a puzzle. A mind-bending puzzle for those on the outside looking in and vis versa. The challenges it presents are unexplainable. We�ve been heard politely asking the boys if they could just give the autism a rest for one night. Of course they can�t, but we still ask when we have had enough of the madness. Sometimes we just need a diversion. The boys have short attention spans so we can�t watch TV programs that require hours of quiet time and contemplations. AI2 was the perfect fit. We saw the boy from the south and thought he was cute, and wow, he could sing. We watched when we could, but you see mayhem rules in the house of autism. Someone was inevitably screaming, crying, laughing hysterically, flooding sinks, hurting themselves or someone else, stripping off their clothes, etc.�On the final night of AI1, one of the boys ate an eraser and started throwing up (everywhere BUT in a bucket!) just as they were announcing the winner. We surmised, when we saw Kelly singing, that she had won.

But then Wildcard Night changed everything. Clay said he worked with special needs kids � my friend and I looked at each other. �Did you hear what I heard?� The web confirmed it. Not only special needs kids � kids with autism. We fell truly, madly and deeply in love with him. You see, to choose to live in the world of autism is really to give yourself as a gift to those with whom you work. Our thoughts would often dwell on the kids who had given him up so the rest of the world could enjoy him. Ironically, the boys hated Clay. One would run to the basement and not come up until it was over and the other would wail mournfully every time he appeared on screen. I think they were jealous of the all the attention we were giving to Clay. Boys will be boys after all!

We needed more info�. Yahoo! Search�Clay Aiken�found some sights that were ok�but then found LBFCA�I was home�they loved him, they played with him, they loved each other, they played with each other�. and yet despite the fun, there was a depth there as well� I�m home. I lurked forever and finally posted�I posted like crazy and then slowed down�fired back up and then slowed down again. Sometimes I just need to be alone with my LOVE! I go back and forth but never stop reading or laughing.

And I will never stop being truly, madly and deeply in love with Clay Aiken. His amazing grace, to set up a foundation for children with special needs at a time when many would have been basking in their own success and glory, was quite frankly astonishing. I have trouble remembering that he is a mere mortal. I often have to remind myself that Clay is just a guy. My heart sometimes gets carried away, and I truly begin to believe he is a gift from God. A message sent to remind us that life is short and in addition to enjoying it - WE must seek to make a difference in the world around us.

Thank You, Clay Aiken!

P.S. As a footnote we have managed to Clayvert the mournfully, wailing boy. On the fridge we have the cover of the In Touch magazine with Ruben and Clay. The headline reads, �Was It Fixed?� We frequently ask wailing boy which one of those guys won and he points appropriately to our Idol, smiles and says, �Cla, Cla�. We always squeal with delight! BTW we�re still working on run away boy!

A special thanks to ESL Liz in NC for encouraging me to write this. And to Prudence for her big, huge brain (and heart!).

-Broad Annie

To honor the rich history and tradition of LBFCA, a new series makes its way to our illustrious main page. "The Broadmuda Triangle" wants your Broadly (or Brudely) tale. Who are you? What makes YOU a Broad?

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