5 October 2006
I have never written about myself or my family before, so, with that in mind, here goes... My name is Dawn, I am 53 years old and I have been married for 32 years. I have 8 children. Yes, that’s right, you did read that correctly (and yes we do have a television!). I am extremely proud that I gave birth to them and, of course, proud of the way they have grown up. They are polite and well-mannered (well, most of the time).They are by no means perfect, but my eldest children will always open a door or give up a seat for a more deserving person, as they should.
They are very close to each other and we always celebrate birthdays and, of course, Christmas together. My eldest son, Jae, is 31 years old. Elle May, my eldest daughter has just turned 30. There's Nicolai who is 27, Kymberley who's 25 and Joshua is 22. However, there is a nine year gap between Josh and Paskal. Paskal is 13 years old, Willow is 11, and finally, Raenie is 9. He suffers from Aspergers Syndrome, a form of Autism. Paskal has PDDNOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified). This too is a form of autism, we have been told.
As you can probably imagine, we've had to learn a lot in the last 5 years regarding how to help and handle Raenie. He’s a wonderful little boy, with real character. Yet, although children with autism find making friends a problem he has plenty and really is quite popular. This doesn’t mean to say he doesn't have problems - he has plenty - some of which I will tell you about another time.
Paskal and Willow have just started a new school together. For Paskal it was fairly easy to adjust having already schooled with teenagers, but for Willow it was a whole new experience. So far, so good. Although Paskal seems to get very tired and he has trouble falling asleep at night, so invariably this tends reflect on his daytime activities. My hubby, Raymond and I met some of the boys' teachers on Thursday 21st September to discover how they are settling in. Paskal is doing nicely and his grades are good. Willow seems to have won over the P.E. department. Although he weighs no more than 4 and a half stone and is only 4 feet 7 inches tall he is already a rugby star. He is very daring for one so slight, so we are told. He hasn't played a proper game yet, but I will be there to watch even though I have no idea how the game works. I expect I will learn a little by watching from the sidelines... hopefully!
I rarely sit down before 9.30 pm and my day starts at 6am. Of course, that’s if Raenie hasn't decided it is time to get up at 3am! Just recently he has slept until 6am, but he has the odd blip and, on occasion, it seems the sun rises at 3am for that little boy. When he does awaken in the middle of the night he simply cannot be coaxed back to sleep. Not for a million pounds - or should I say a million Playstation games which he loves (and is probably what wakes him up in the first place). He has never been a great sleeper although when the mood takes him he can fall asleep in a matter of seconds, the polar opposite to Paskal.
My children all live at home except Jae, though Nick comes and goes. It’s quite a full house most of the time. Lots of washing, ironing and cooking. I am also the chauffeur, nurse, doctor, teacher, hairdresser, accountant, party organiser, agony aunt… and now blogger.
Welcome to my family.
Have a lovely week!