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A Hundred Steps


Koko
Hey Pokey!
The blue lights have been turned out.  April 30th reached midnight and gave way to May.  This cigar box blog has returned to its native hue.  Autism goes on uninterrupted.
In another week or so, I plan to go to Midnight Farm.  This is a working farm and residential home for developmentally disabled adults.  It is also a place where kids with autism can ride horses as a part of their therapy.  Mason will show me how he rides Koko.  He’ll demonstrate the communication skills he’s learning as his voice and body tell Koko to giddy-up or to whoa.  Every trip around the ring or along the cobblestone road helps him understand cause and effect.  He learns to use his words while Koko patiently understands.
Pals come in all sizes and shapes.  Some are like Pokey.  They're the ones who let you rub their nose and look deeply into their eyes.  They probably understand what you’re saying better than some of us who use only our ears.  Fences were invented to contain or separate.  A three finger touch on the flat of his nose can make a fence disappear and etch a new memory - something learned.  

Some pals are like Koko, a 26 year old American Paint Horse whose saddle is like a grandma's lap.  I haven’t yet met Koko but the stories of how she's happy to see Mason and feel him on her back is another sign that her hooves may have walked further in his shoes than my feet have been able to do.
C'mon guys!
Our little guy is on a long road.  It is not paved and smooth but it does have a layer of leveled gravel.  There are curves that must be mastered and sometimes the weeds will have encroached clear across the way.  There will be sunny spots where light shines through and shade where trees and foliage and clouds cast darkness over the path and make the next steps harder to see.  
I’m thankful for the times he’ll hold my hand as he walks his road.  It’s comforting to know that sometimes he can catch a ride on Koko.  There’s never a doubt that when he stumbles or is confused, his mom, dad and brother are there to help him up and get him on his way again.  

April has ended and with it the “light it up for autism awareness” campaign retires for eleven months.  This blog will return to blue again next April and every April of every year until I’ve figured out how to walk a hundred steps, in his shoes on his road.



-- td

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