It’s very rare that the internet lets me down. So, when I searched for family blogs about adults with DS and came up very short, it reminded me of my desire to document the experience of life-sharing with my guy. I did find Nick Special Needs and have been reading through Teresa’s site. So. Much. In. Common.

And then I realized that was exactly what I was looking for. Someone in my boat. A shared experience. A mirror. I also realized, if I don’t write, maybe I am letting someone down too.

So, I’m back. I am here.

I often do not realize the dynamics that make my family differnt from some, because it’s all I know. Sometimes, I am very acutely aware that co-living with an adult with a significant developmental disability is a very different experince from many other situations.

And just like family life, this blog could get messy. I don’t know where that blurry line falls about telling my stories, and Ethan’s stories and who and what might get mixed up in the middle. If I don’t say enough, or paint the picture in just the right light, you may not see or  hear exactly what I am trying to covey. If I sugar-coat or gloss over the difficult and ugly bits (wait, you knew we had them, right?) I also don’t serve my purpose of putting this out there so that someone else feels less alone.

Right now, I’ve had to retreat to the basement with my laptop, because Ethan is here and he is watching Ninjago on his iPad VERY LOUDLY. He has mild, uncorrected hearing loss and listens to everything VERY LOUDLY. He won’t put in his earbuds because he recently had an ear infection. There is no point in trying to negotiate. Not now. Not over this. For now, I will dream of a giant house with a tricked-out basement that he would love 🙂 Or that I would love.

I am back to discuss what Living With A Happy Man is like, which is interesting and funny and hard, loud and unpredictable. If you ask Ethan what living with me is like he’d say ‘Mom is evil’. ‘

Evil’ is pronounced ‘eeeeeeevil’.