As far as I am concerned, it is the luckiest girl at Syracuse High School!
But its' a long story:
Austin is 17. Despite having Autism he does very well. He has an extremely tender heart, he is very good at following the rules, He is a hard worker and very helpful. He struggles a little with his social skills and some things at school but the kids his age have known him since kindergarten and understand that that's just Austin. But, still, he is a bit behind the other kids his age. With some very hard work, he is a few weeks away from getting his driver's license. That is a big thing for him. Also, he has yet to go on a date. I haven't been concerned about that. He usually gets the urge to do things when Kyle starts doing them (like getting his driving permit and license). Kyle is only 17 months younger than Austin. That makes for an interesting dynamic in their relationship. Kyle is younger but in most ways he is like the older brother. That was really hard for him a few years ago but I think he's understanding more what that means for him. He is trying really hard to be a good brother. Also, Kyle's 5th birthday was only a few days before the cut off for kindergarten. We had a hard time deciding weather or not to put him in school or keep him home one more year. We ended up sending him when he was 5. He is younger than almost everyone in his grade and just one year behind Austin.
But that's just some background info. Here's where the story begins:
Last week at lunch, Kyle's friend (and our next door neighbor) mentioned that she had not been asked to Prom yet. She joked that she was going to ask him but didn't think we, his parents, would let him (our rule is no dating until 16, he's a few months away). Kyle and I were in the car and had time to talk. He mentioned this to me and asked what I thought. I told him that the ONLY person I would even consider that for would be Gracie. She is one of the sweetest girls I have ever known! I thought that was the end of that but I should have known better. (These kids are teenagers and extremely resourceful!)
When Jim got home from work, I had Kyle tell his dad the story. Then Jim and I talked about it privately. We decided it would be considered if Austin could be included somehow. Well that was all it took. Wheels started turning, flying fingers started texting and before we knew it, Austin had someone lined up to ask to the prom (Gracie's sweet friend). I guess this type of scheme takes a village!
So here's something I learned when I moved to Utah. You can't just go up to someone and ask them to a dance. It has to be a super creative and interesting scavenger hunt or puzzle that asks your prospective date. The answer should be equally creative. A couple members of this "village" of friends helped come up with how Austin should ask Katie and on Saturday he asked. She was at play practice and we went over to her house. We put a note on her front door that said, "Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who will be my date to the ball?". Her sister was given the task of being her fairy godmother and guiding her through the house, where on several mirrors, we put a single letter of Austin's name. The last letter was on the mirror in her room along with a note that read, "Because you are the fairest of them all, will you go with me to the ball?"
When Jim got home from work, I had Kyle tell his dad the story. Then Jim and I talked about it privately. We decided it would be considered if Austin could be included somehow. Well that was all it took. Wheels started turning, flying fingers started texting and before we knew it, Austin had someone lined up to ask to the prom (Gracie's sweet friend). I guess this type of scheme takes a village!
So here's something I learned when I moved to Utah. You can't just go up to someone and ask them to a dance. It has to be a super creative and interesting scavenger hunt or puzzle that asks your prospective date. The answer should be equally creative. A couple members of this "village" of friends helped come up with how Austin should ask Katie and on Saturday he asked. She was at play practice and we went over to her house. We put a note on her front door that said, "Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who will be my date to the ball?". Her sister was given the task of being her fairy godmother and guiding her through the house, where on several mirrors, we put a single letter of Austin's name. The last letter was on the mirror in her room along with a note that read, "Because you are the fairest of them all, will you go with me to the ball?"
Well, she answered! Her note said, "It would take an army to hold me back from going to the dance with you! YES!!!" And of course, I had the camera handy:
The idea was to set up little army guys all over his room. They started trying to stand them all up but that wasn't going to work at all!
Then they just started scattering them all over the room. That was much faster.
Some of the members of the "Get a Prom Date for Austin" village. His date is the cute girl second from the left.
Along with the army guys, she left a little toy gun. He was super happy that she said yes but he REALLY liked getting that gun!
The next morning I looked in his room and noticed he had separated the army guys into neat little piles. That is so Austin! I just had to take a picture.
1 comment:
So cute :) What a great little story! I am sure they will all have a great time!
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