Sunday, June 17, 2012

Ga Ga for Grey

After I realized our son Greyson had Autism, I realized I needed to kick up the happiness factor in the other- controllable aspects of my life. It's hard to realize that our daily dose of happiness is actually a choice....it's so much easier to blame it on circumstance and chance...
So every day, I wake up...and every day I try my darndest to choose happy....and some days it's near impossible...But some days it's pretty darn easy...

Greyson has allowed me to see more beauty in the small things in Life...it's allowed me to see how sweet and kind and accepting the World is....how hard many people work for the love of kids...how much love can be conveyed in a hug.

According to a very official pool of data taken by me, the most AWESOME things about Greyson Kelly, in order of comments to me is:
His Hair...
His Blue Eyes...
And his shoes....I swear...

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These guys...



I want to take a moment to talk about these shoes... {big sigh}...
Ahhhh, these shoes...I could almost write an entire blog on these shoes... the places they will go....and the places they've already been...




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I remember his first pair...They were red...Grey was almost 2 years old...

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They became a house favorite due to the no socks factor...plus they are antimicrobial and made of the most supple rubbery stuff...not to mention they can get dirty or wet and still be just fine...and they slip on...

Michael felt like something was different with Grey then but couldn't put his finger on it... I was upstairs getting ready one weekend morning and Michael and Grey were downstairs waiting for me... Michael suddenly burst into the bedroom in tears...


He put his own shoes on....he told me, voice shaking... He put them on- all by himself...

This was out of character for Michael and much more an emotional reaction with Chrissy written all over it... He then said, I think he's going to have a hard time learning and have a hard life with lots of struggle....and that just made me feel so much better....

I remember reassuring Michael, I promise- he is fine! It's just a speech delay. I swear...and if for some crazy reason something happens and he's not fine- we will help him and we will all still be OK....but I just said the last part to make Michael feel better, because I really thought nothing was wrong.

I love these shoes...
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They are a beautiful reminder to me of what Greyson is...not what he isn't...of what he can do...not what he can't...

Some Spectrum kids have sensory aversions to clothing or shoes...they are very picky about what can touch their body...some can't have any clothing tags touching their skin...some can't stand to have their socks on unevenly...some can't stand the feel of shoes on their feet- or will only wear certain shoes...these behaviors do not describe Greyson, but I wanted to share that information.

From here on out, Fridays during the Summer we are as free as birds... No ABA, no speech....and although someone somewhere told me that previously...I usually can only remember life a day or two at a time...and as we were rushing around getting ready for the 8am Behavior Teacher to arrive at the house on Friday...I remembered.... and it was a snow day in June.

Late in the morning we went to buy my incredible laundry-doing husband, Michael, a Father's Day gift...me and my two best buds...And it was my first day out, free in the World with my little blue stickers...and suddenly I felt like I was not only shopping...I was changing the World too...
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Michael and I painted the town Grey today too at Jamba Juice...(you should totally sign up for the Color Me Rad Run too!)


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And Starbucks- I hung it near some Autism Awareness materials already hanging up...totally meant to be.

For all the times I feel sad because Autism is in my life... there are so many other times I feel so happy and so full of purpose and putting up these stickers made me feel all of those things. If you are looking for a little extra purpose in your life, send me your address and I'll send you some Life with Greyson stickers for you to hand out, wear, or post wherever you deem fit. I would be so grateful for your help.

So on our free Friday, I decided on a whim that Grey needed more Natives...We went to a magical little store called Ga Ga CHIC in a land called Fig Garden Village...

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Picnic Green, meet Greyson...

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I had no clue they make them Parker-Doodle sized.

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Jack the Dog is even ga ga for them...

The owner, Abbie, was there and she had the sweetest eyes...She didn't look mad or impatient as Greyson cried because he didn't want me to try new shoes on him...She didn't scoff at the fact that Grey dumped blocks all over her floor...or that he kept trying to run out the door...

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She even hopped on a cow thingy and made Grey smile...actual cow thingy not pictured...

I told her a little bit of our story...and I gave her a sticker -and when I got home I sent her a message on their Facebook page.

Something in her connected with our story- like it does with you Friend, and she wrote me back with words that made my morning Saturday...and she also let me know that she was happy to share our story and our stickers... We brought some to Ga Ga that day, and I am so so so proud to say she is the first business displaying Life With Greyson stickers for the World to see.

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Thank you Ga Ga Chic!!!


I am so proud. I can't remember the last time I felt that.

She has no idea I am writing this...she is displaying those stickers out of the kindness of her heart...and if you've ever worked for a small business you know people are constantly asking you to donate money, to support causes, to hang signs... and she was still excited about helping me...she was thanking me for sharing our story...brainstorming with me on how we can generate even more awareness for Life with Grey...and all I kept thinking that day was....People are good....People like to do good things... And in turn, it makes me want to do good too...and I hope reading this makes you want to do the same-and I hope it makes you go do it. If you live in Fresno, you simply must stop by Ga Ga...even if it's just to grab a sticker and hop on the cow.

Oh friends, my mouth is dry from all the envelopes I licked this weekend...mailing stickers as far as Europe and as close as a mile away. The World is so much smaller than I ever had imagined.

God is so good.... He makes amazing sunsets like these...
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Totally unedited...


And when I was sad because I found out my son was Autistic...he sent me kindness from all over the World to take away so much of the sad. Thank you friends.

Have a great day, I'm so glad you came by.



5 comments:

  1. I am hoping to catch up on your blog some today. I have been totally out of the loop & have spent several days "unplugged" this summer. Good to see you again, friend!

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  2. I'm sitting in the jury room waiting, waiting, waiting....glad to have you for company. I'm not going to stew about the waiting, instead I will have a "Chrissy" kind of day....and be happy to be an able bodied American that can serve on a jury....hugs! Lani

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  3. So funny I always think how much I love Greyson's shoes! When the time comes I'm going on Ga Ga Chic's website to order Quinn's shoes from her as a small way to pay it forward. Thx again Chrissy for another great bolg. Can't wait to get my stickers.

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  4. Thank you so much for sharing your story. We're so glad our shoes could help make a difference in Greysons life :) Keep it lite.

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  5. I REALLY like those shoes and notice them in almost every picture you take of Greyson. I love that they have a story because they are really cool shoes for a really cool little one!

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