Did you hear about what happened to us this weekend?

It was one of the scariest five minutes of our lives.

A reminder that things can change in a split second.

A reminder that we had gotten too comfortable, too complacent, too confident.

Thankfully, THANKFULLY, it ended happily.

And then yesterday, 48 hours after our ordeal, an eight year old boy with Autism went missing during school hours, lost for an entire day and night in the forest.

I could barely get myself to watch the news, following the story in tiny doses, just to stay informed.

And I prayed

And I cried

especially when I would see his beautiful little face flashing on the screen.

That face.

That could have been Andrew not two days before.

Jesus.

 

He has zero concept about dangers such as kidnapping, hunger, getting lost, getting run over by a car…..

He feels fear but the grave dangers that lurk beyond the safety net of family and friends are completely abstract to him.

It’s terrifying, knowing just how vulnerable he is.

I know there are a lot of gorgeous boys and girls gracing Autism Awareness posters and brochures, but PEOPLE!

This is what AUTISM REALLY LOOKS LIKE!

Missing children

Frenzied parents

Heartbreak and HELL

and so what the #$%# are we going to do about it?!!!!!

 

Tonight I’m relieved that this little angel is safe and sound and ALIVE

but how many have to die

ALONE

before people begin to look beyond the beautiful faces on glossy posters

and

start contributing to a solution

to an EPIDEMIC

to a growing NIGHTMARE

to the reality of what we, as a society, are up against.

 

I’m sorry.

I’m just so overwhelmed right now

and this is the first place I thought of to go

 

People read my articles, my posts

call me an “expert,”

thank me for bringing their stories to life

but honestly you guys

half the time I don’t know what the hell I’m doing

 

Though I hope you’ll stick around while I figure it out

 

In the meantime,

as I type this

I’m watching my Andrew asleep on the couch, safe, warm,

knowing that he’s passed out way too early

that he’ll be a tyrant in the middle of the night

that I will be exhausted tomorrow morning

and all I can think is

how freaking grateful I am right now.