Blue

"Your son is on the spectrum"
Six words I'd never thought I'd hear
Yet here we are with my five-year old son
The therapist's words were crystal clear
At the time it was one of the hardest days if my life
I did my research and was prepared
Couldn't say the same for my wife
She was in denial. Couldn't see the light
She was petrified, but I knew we'd be alright
I saw it for myself in his lack of eye contact
Saw it in his eating habits and social skills he lacked
The infatuation he had with the color blue
"Daddy, there's turquoise, navy, sky blue and teal"
And the nights where the severe meltdowns made things all too real
So now we must deal with this diagnosis
Can't let our hearts be broken
Help our son and get focused
Keep the prayer lines open

As the years passed, we dealt with dirty looks
The rolling of eyes, audible sighs
"Why does your son twist his fingers?"
"Why is he so loud? He needs to be quiet"
I would be lying
If I said for every one of those comments I heard
I'd want to punch someone on the face
Maybe just flip them the bird
Instead, I stayed calm and used my words
"My son is autistic and he means no harm"
"He just turned ten and is getting straight A's"
"In fact, he wants to be a meteorologist one day"
"He has his days when he's up, days when he's down"
"Days where he laughs, days when he frowns"
"Oh and the meltdowns? Far and few between"
"But please be respectful because my boy is a human being"

Junior is now a young man of seventeen
Lives life as a normal teen...doing his thing
He is a star player on the basketball team
Never ever in my widest dreams
Did I think.......
My son would be where he is
My son is truly one hell of a kid
Many a day I shed tears and cried
Feeling blue inside
Praying that my son will be alright
Faith stepped up, stepped in and persevered
The other day, the therapist's words were crystal clear
"Your son's an inspiration to us all"
He was awarded a scholarship to go to college in the fall
All the pieces of the puzzle of faith truly came together
And yes, my son plans to major in meteorology and study the weather.