Susan Senator

Today was a day for perseverance. Which pronunciation do I mean? What is the difference? One is admired, one is reviled. I like to think that in terms of my writing, I perseverate productively, and then I persevere.

So I’m happy today for many reasons. God is in his heaven — which is right here on earth — and all is therefore right with the world. I just finished writing a killer oped, which I’ve sent to the Times. All of my fingers and toes are crossed. This piece asks — a propos to the upcoming NASDAQ event on April 27th (two Autism Speaks board members will ring the bell to close the day) — are autism families better off? Is this autism awareness, or anti-autism mania?

I managed to squeeze in a 10-mile bike ride with Max! This was the best thing that happened all day. I am sunburned and pumped. I finished drying my hair just as Nat’s van pulled up, and he spilled out of it in a flourish of self-talking and Joyful House Stompies. We took Ben to his appointment and we walked to the evil Starbucks, which actually was not evil at all. They have seen the light! The same guy greeted us: “Hi guys!” and helped Nat figure out which cookie he wanted. I gave him a dollar tip, I was so happy.

And then we sat outside! In the hot sun. I worked on my essay while Nat ate and self-shouted. Everyone around us noticed Nat and his joy. Some people tried to give us a little more space. I hope they realized what unique sweetness was in their midst — and I don’t mean the cookie.