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Hi @mamacita, At first your message confused me, but I did some digging around and now I understand. Your message above was a copy and paste from Samantha Craft's facebook post here: https://bit.ly/2EfBKHC
The way I read your message at first was that you would be hosting peer mentoring, but it is Samantha who is offering this service and you are sharing it with the group. Got it. I LOVE that you are taking on a special role here. Because you are connected in many different places, you're bringing select resources, tips and information into the autie group here on Connect. Wonderful. I have a special name for that super power. You are a Cross-Pollinator or a Bumble Bee if you'd like a prettier image. Like a bee you carry pollen from one place to another and the results bear fruit.
Thank you!
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Ms Colleen, may I say that you are a wonderful boss. Probably one of The absolute best I have ever had.
Your way with words and the heart behind them are a balm to this Autie person's soul. And I am not exaggerating when I say this. Allow me to share this Autie's experience for a moment.
For me, as an adult on the Autism Spectrum, there are times when it is difficult for me to communicate. To find the words, to say things in the "correct" way. I do fall short, and yes, it does bother me some. But I have been married to my wonderful husband for 44 years this November. We still work on communication. We still misunderstand each other from time to time. But we don't throw in the towel.
We just stop and laugh, and say" ok , here we go again, Autism." And we keep trying. One mistake is not the end of the world. I frequently have to talk myself down from the comical 12th story ledge where some sweet, bumbling, not so typical character in a sit-com despairs of ever finding "normal." His caring, Neurotypical friends pull him in from the ledge, finally. They tell him he is not a failure, all is not lost. He is accepted, warts and all.
We Auties feel very deeply. If we make a mistake, we take it to heart. We agonize over how we could have done "it" better. We replay the scenes over and over in a never ending loop until we fall asleep, praying for all our loved ones and for us to not, please God, have those nightmares tonight.
All this, and I am not ignorant of coping skills one uses in various demanding situations. Life is interesting to say the least. Not everyone on the Spectum has these issues. Some are, unfortunately, way worse. But that is for another time. Another place.
I have taken your good advice and I am perfectly content and at peace with all that has transpired this week. The "ledge" is only an exerpt from one script of my life, and it has never been a real ledge. I love life too much to ever, ever do anything to diminish this gift we all have been given! You understand, I think.
I am like the proverbial goose who wakes up to a brand new world every morning. All of this to say thank you for being you, dear Ms Colleen.
Pug hugs and good night,
Mamacita (Jane)