Fynn's Photographs

Each person has their own unique outlook on life, which is just as valid as our own.

We can never really know what th' world looks like through someone elses eyes, which is why it is so important to take th' time to listen to and try to understand others. They see things that you may not, or in a way you may not have considered. And when we see things from different points of view we get a more complete understanding of life. 

It has always been difficult for us to get a sense of how th' world looks and feels to Fynn. So we gave him th' camera a few times and let him take photos of what ever he wanted. 

He took some really neat pictures, which have helped us to make a bit of sense of his perspective. 

We found a few themes in his photos- namely, contrast, and close up focus. He's always been fascinated with shadows, and light and dark. And he loves to get right up close to anything he likes, including your face. So, without psychoanalyzing too much, here's some of his photos, as well as a video we put together.

and here's a link to the video !

Enjoy

Are hugs socially acceptable?

Yesterday me and Fynn were at Beavers Market, a small old-fashioned grocery store. Fynn is six and autistic. I was just looking for what i was looking for and heard a lady's voice saying "Oh!"- I turned around and saw Fynn giving a complete stranger a hug. She was looking at me with a surprised look on her face. I just smiled. Then she walked on and another lady walked by, and Fynn gave her a hug too. She glanced at Fynn for a moment then looked at me with a very surprised look. Again, I just smiled. She walked on down the aisle and i heard her say to th' first lady "I thought you knew him, but now I'm thinking you don't." 

Now, i have no idea what these ladies were thinking, and i didn't ask. But i do know by th' way they looked at me that they were both pretty surprised. So that raised th' question for me, as a parent, should i talk to Fynn about something like that? Is it socially acceptable to give someone a hug? Is there an age limit when it stops being socially acceptable to give a stranger a hug? He was just being kind- so, if there is a point to where kindness is not socially acceptable, how do you explain that to someone? If i would've given those ladies hugs i might've been punched chewed out arrested or all of the above. 

What i was thinking at th' time was, wow- it took us (me and beth) almost five years to get a real hug from Fynn. His way of showing affection used to be backing up and running into you as fast as he could, or some other form of sudden impact. One day we just decided that it's not ok to not get hugs from your little boy, so we taught him how to hug. It wasn't easy, you usually have to ask him for a hug, and he still mostly gives his original version of a hug, which is more like getting hit by a truck, but he also gives some really great hugs now. So when i see him voluntarily offer a genuine hug, i'm not quick to stop him. 

Living with an autistic person has really made me think about social behavior. One of our goals as parents is to help Fynn learn how to co-exist around other folks, and that's a reachable goal, but never at the expense of compromising what's good. Truth is not based on a majority vote. So, if you're out and about and some kid is kind to you, though maybe not what you would consider normal, what's th' best way to react? With kindness of course. Eventually our kids will meet certain people and realize that not all folks are nice or can be trusted, let's not be those people. Let's be the people they can be themselves around. Everyone needs that. Cheers.

What would you have done in this situation? Leave us a comment to let us know.

bows, 2013

Here's a photographic review of some of th' bows i made this year, 

if you have any questions, feel free to ask in th' comments. 

Happy New Year. 

bit of kolrosing near th' handle

making a string

Add caption

painted with home made oil paint

elm can have a beautiful heart/sap wood contrast

these are all from one tree