Every time I let some blogring post one of my blogs, they mess it all up and the responses are horrendous to say the least. My last blog was really a plea for help in order to understand and get along with some girls from my church. Sadly, with the blogrings splicing and dicing, the responses were less than helpful as apparently I used the wrong word for describing these "kind" of girls. Apparently girly girl was the wrong word. That's the only piece of helpful advice I have received thus far. Oh, and apparently it is Sarah Dessen, not Laura Dessen. The moral of the story: As appealing as it sounds, one doesn't want to be a featured post.

In some better news. My thesis was accepted last week. For those not familiar, I am writing my thesis on Positive Portrayals of Disabilities in Intermediate and Young Adult Fiction. It's almost a how to guide for writers on how to write positive portrayals of the disabled. I was rather nervous because I have heard people say that their thesis' have been rejected and I'm a bit of a perfectionist. You would think I would welcome rejection as it will be my life as a writer, however not when it comes to my thesis. But it was accepted, and my professor was very pleased with my progress, research, arguments, and guidelines. It is interesting how writing and reading so much about disability will really change the way you look at books. I was reading a YA Sci-fi called Gone by Grant and one of the girls has a brother who is autistic. My radar went off immediately. I started to evaluate the way disability was portrayed according to my own guidelines. I still enjoyed the book, but it was through a certain filter. If the portrayal of that character had been stereotypical or biased, I would not have liked it as much. (for the record, the book on the whole was so so) People have been kind enough to give titles of books that they think I can use for my thesis, however, unless I am planning on writing an annotated bibliography, I have all the books I need. I am considering writing an annotated bib simply because I feel like I should mention some of the books not brought up in my thesis. Yeah, you read that right...I am giving myself more work to do when I don't need to do it.

Church is getting better. I am volunteering in the nursery once a month. I'm good with babies, but I declined any work with teens. Not a fan of the drama. I am making an effort to talk to people at church more, whether through text or on-line. In person whenever possible. Went out with a friend for a bonfire last week. (hayride included) The girly girl post was due to the fact that I am attempting to hang out with anyone who reaches out to me, but some of those girls come with a lot of drama. I want to know how to be a loving friend and yet not be sucked into it. Thanks Carolyn, you were very helpful.

Next week I am going with my mom, friend Abby and her son Josh to Washington, D.C. to the National Book Festival. I am so terribly excited that I can hardly contain myself. We will drive up next Friday, tour a bit, then go check into the hotel. Eat dinner, chill and then go to the Book Festival on the National Mall on Saturday. There will be tons of authors, but I only care about the children's authors. Who will be there you ask? Mo Willems, Judy Blume, David Shannon, Shannon Hale, Steven Kellogg, Megan McDonald, Tony DiTerlizzi, Kate DiCamillo, Jon Scieszka, Rick Riordan, Lois Lowry, Nikki Grimes, Sharon Creech, Jerry Pinkney, Liz Kessler, Jeff Kinney, Kadir Nelson, James Patterson, Jaqueline Woodson. I have over two dozen books that I want signed. Plus there are author talks, which I also plan on sitting through. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am.

Lastly, (for now) I have started reading like a mad person again. For those who are not readers, you may not understand, but it is like running into a cherished friend that you haven't seen in awhile. I love reading. I love finishing book after book in succession. I have a pile of books to read and just seeing that stack beside my bed makes me smile. People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau is next on my list, to be followed shortly by Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. I am determined to read at least one adult book this semester, but it really doesn't bother me in the slightest that I read kids books.

Well, I'm off. My middle brother turns 20 today and I have a party to attend.

I don't think my brother and sister-in-law truly believe that my youngest sibling is really autistic. Or more like they don't think he is as bad as my parents say he is. I saw his psych report as well as his career coaching guidelines and believe me, he still has a long way to go. From what I can tell they believe that his problems stem from the "way our family is" as well as bad parenting. (ie coddling, spoiling)

It is true, my mother is an emotional person and my brother does share some of her personality traits, however my mother doesn't flap when she gets upset, nor does she squeal when she is overly excited or stimulated.

It is true that he sucks his thumb, but this is because it is stimming and he doesn't know he is doing it, not because my parents allowed him to. Just the opposite, we have been trying to find ways of making him stop for over a decade now. They seem to believe that his getting lost in video games and television is because he "is a Musgrove."

It is true that we grew up without tv and do like to watch it and get lost in it. However, I do actually hear people when they talk to me. If you talk to James while he is playing video games he doesn't hear you. Not at all. My mother could tell him something extremely important and he will never hear her. He has sat in the same room when something caught on fire in the stove and he didn't move a muscle. I had to run downstairs when the alarm went off and put it out.

It is true that he has never had a job, but this isn't because he hasn't applied places or because my parents haven't encouraged it. He has never even made it to the interviewing process, which I suspect would be a disaster.

They believe that my parents have "allowed" him to be this way. He is the result of bad parenting, not because of Asperger's, and if my parents had done something differently, he would be a totally different kid. It upsets me that my own brother thinks my parents are bad parents. Sure, like any parent, they have made mistakes. Is there really any perfect parent out there? Would they say the same thing if James had Down's Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy? I think there is a double standard when it comes to Aspergers. Because he looks and can at times act "normal", there is this feeling that he should be that way all the time. Someone must be doing something wrong. He is using his disability as a crutch or some such crap. I love my brother. He is doing very well, but he still has a lot to learn. I only hope my other brother and sister-in-law will learn and grow in this area.