Reasons to be Cheerful ~ Birthday kid!

It has been a while since my last link up to #R2BC. You know how it goes.... life gets busy and then before you know it, the months have flown by and phew we are facing the end of May.
For this post I thought it would be prudent to focus on my son. He turns 14 on Saturday and the month of May has always been a topsy turvy time for me. Why so? Well, my boy is severely autistic and he is WAY behind his typical peers. Each Birthday has been a milestone missed and a sad reminder that he is very challenged.
Anyway, enough of the blues!
This year I choose to celebrate Nick's Birthday and here are my reasons why...........
I am overwhelmed that my boy is beginning to talk. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that he would be able to say a word. At this stage he is still sounding out the letters to make a word. For example; tonight he said "f...i...sh". As of the last two weeks he has been saying "car" and "cut". Believe me ~ my heart is singing big time!
Nick has become incredibly flexible with any change in his life/routine. If you know autism, you will be aware that many kids on the spectrum (not all) rely on rigid routines because of their need for sameness. My boy used to be like that, however, I have been working on this issue for many years and it is now paying off. Each time we go out into the community and I observe my Mr Flexible, I just grin from ear to ear.
I spend a lot of time with Nick and of course there are days that he drives me crazy, however, I find him to be a very easy kid. I love that over the last two years our relationship has really blossomed and he is now happy to hang out with his old mum (this wasn't always the case!). 
This year, I choose to celebrate Nick's birthday.
Thank you, Michelle, from Mummy from the Heart, for providing me with the platform to focus on the positive aspects of raising a child/teen with autism.

Nick's first Birthday cake in ten years!