My Big Brother:

_{Mo Jackson's Primitive Scrapbooking, Color Happy Papers by Michelle Coleman, overlay by Nancy Rowe Janitz, frame (modified) by Shabby Princess and Font: Pea Lis and Pea Cammi-pea, Edwardian Script ITC}
Text: This is my big brother, Denny! What would I like my kids to know about their uncle as they look at these early photos? From what my mother told me when he was born, Denny, was a quiet baby. He did not fuss to be picked up. That seemed comforting to a brand new mother, but a little strange.. He has a pair of the most beautiful deep brown eyes. In physical build and appearance he is extremely similar to our dad. As he got a little older his hair grew straignt up making him look like he had a cute little buzz cut all the time. When he would play with his toys or with cans everything woulld be lined up perfectly. He would get upset if my mother needed a can from somewhere within his perfect line. When Denny was 4 years-old the diagnosis of Autism was given to the behaviors he was exhibiting. The research into Autism was in its infancy in the United States. He had a behvioral disorder with no clear cause. There were people who held the false belief that Autism was caused by the mother's lack of desire to have the baby when she was pregnant. My mother's love for Denny has never diminished. Our mother met with every leading doctor in the field of Autism research or wrote to them. Doctoral students from Emory University worked with Denny.
He kept an immaculate and perfectly ordered room until I arrived. I created a lot of agitation in his life. My mom said he clapped one hand tightly on my head and said, "GO AWAY!" When my kids tear up stuff I just straightened up I have a greater understanding of how he must have felt. My mom misses the gentle smile she could coax from him when he was small. Now they are forced and distant. Puberty was a tumultous time for him and rather dangerous for him and for us. He is an adult man in his 40s now and the constant in his life is a family who loves him.


---Denny is kind of a phantom that moves around my mother's house. The kids know his room is off limits to toy borrowing, but if Granny goes with them they can give him a kiss. His weight level is on the slim side these days, so we call him skinny Denny. Several years ago he had a long period of time where he ate only hormel chili. He got heavy and we nicknamed him Buddha Boy and said you could rub his tummy for good luck. He is sort of the Oprah of the Autistic community.
My step father gives him a shower and a shave everyday. My mother takes him to school at the DeKalb Service Center where he has a wonderful teacher named Steve. His friend, Debbie, got moved to another class recently and Denny is not pleased. My step mother cuts Denny's thick brown hair. I find it a blessing that our step parents give inordinate amounts of unconditional love and service.

My brother has the coolest bed sheets by the way. He has the original Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars and Disney's Robin Hood bed sheets. They are growing thread bare, but my mother's attempts to change them have been met with disapproval.

---Speaking of meeting with disapproval... my 3 year-old is crying because I made her the DREADED pancakes instead of waffles. I think I might break out the old "There are people starving in Africa..." line because I'm not making something different to appease a tantrum. Stubborn mom...stubborn 3 year old.

Smiles everyone smiles (even if this isn't Fantasy Island)!