So my last post at the end I said "Our Autism Journey isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain. I have thought about this for a little while now wondering what this means to me, and what does it mean to our family.

This simple but powerful quote means so much. This Journey we are taking is like a storm. Most of the time it is dark, and unknowing. Sometimes there is loud thunder and Crashing lighting. These are Charlie's hardest moments, these are moments when all hell seems to break loose and the sweet little boy that we know as Charlie gets lost in this child that just can't control or help the screaming, thrashing, tantrums. There is lots of rain. There are points in the storm where you can see the sun peak through, and a ray of sunshine breaks through the clouds and you can see in the distance the ray of sunshine hitting the fields. These are days when Charlie learns new things, he breaks through the darkness of his Sensory issues and Autism and you see the REAL Charlie. The little boy that is stuck inside.

Through this storm we have learned SO much about what it means to be a parent, a partner, a wife, a husband, and a support system.

Even though this Storm is scary, hard, confusing, and even joyful, We dance in the rain every chance we get. The rain shows up when Charlie is getting ready to come through with his bright smiles, hugs, kisses, and laughs. We learned that when it rains we step outside, we feel every drop hit our face, run down our cheeks, and on to our clothes, that we are human, and Charlie is our guiding light.