It's been a long, exhausting summer. But an exhilarating one, as well.

I realize that a mere 9 hours from now, my soon-to-be first-grader will be boarding a bus and summer will be over. I also realize it's been quite a while since I have posted any recipes or daily goings-on when it comes to planning meals for those with special diets.

Here's the deal: I could not tear myself away, not for one moment, from my son's amazing summer. That's the truth. I'm hoping most of the readers who frequent this blog have had the same experience. Time spent outdoors with their families, laughing and losing the stress of everyday life, if only for a moment...

As we all begin to hunker down for fall and head back into our kitchens, I am noticing the things I have neglected. Numero Uno is this blog. Why? Because I had another priority.

I'll talk about something I rarely discus in this forum: My son has autism. Years after his heartbreaking diagnosis (and soon after, a celiac diagnosis) and years after spending countless hours cooking special meals, I can look back and smile proudly at all my little picky eater has overcome. Not least of which is being able to recognize that certain foods make him feel sick.

When he sees other kids eating bagels, pizza or cupcakes he says without hesitation "no thanks, that will make me sick." Not too shabby for a kid that just over three years ago had trouble answering any form of question and mostly spoke in repeated phrases from others or television.

A million, tiny miracles happen every day in our house. And we are thankful for them all. The teachers who spend countless hours with my son, the parapros who help calm him when he loses control and the children who stick around long enough teach him subtle social cues are all part of our team of miracle workers. And sometimes we get stuck on the bad stuff: Outbursts, defiance, what he CAN'T eat.

As our family has been busy planning our lives trying to avoid these things, sometimes all these miracles can escape us. And the more recent things, little strides my son was taking between the meltdowns and defiance, seemed to be lost on us through the year. But they crossed the finish line in full force this summer.

As the days heated up, his smile grew bigger. He jumped into lakes and onto bicycles. He spoke unprompted to other children and waved to passers-by. All big feats for someone with an impairment in social interaction and a general uncomfortableness with the world around him. But in the lake, in motion and running through sprinklers, he was just a kid. A smiling, calm and comfortable kid.

And during the summer, I scheduled my life around his happiness. At the end of the day, instead of plugging in the laptop and logging on, I got some rest for the busy chain of events sure to face me the next day. Play dates ensued, impromptu trips to beaches, bike rides down the street and calls to friends and family were made. We didn't sit still. We couldn't.

And as I tucked him into bed tonight I kissed him on the cheek and said "that was one fantastic summer, kid."

"Yeah," he replied. "It was fun."




A morning pick-me-up for busy days:

Easy Egg Sandwich
2 eggs, beaten
salt, pepper to taste
1 slice Vegan Gourmet or Kraft cheese
1/2 Kinnickinnick English muffin, toasted
Pam cooking spray (Pam for Baking is NOT gluten-free)

Spray pan with cooking spray and add egg mixture. Season. Cook on medium heat until ready to flip. Flip eggs, add cheese and fold. Top muffin with egg mixture.