Joy In The Little Things

Harper was diagnosed with Autism at age two and we were told by doctors and therapists that keeping a routine would be best to help her learn and succeed. 

That routine has become so important to Harper.  She has a memory like a trap and it’s not just the daily routine that she craves but also the annual routines.

It is fall and when the leaves start to change and the weather starts to get cooler she knows it is time for the pumpkin farm.  

It has been part of our yearly routine and Harper loves it. Also, it is one of our safe places to visit with her.  One of the places we know she will be happy and successful.  

She runs, she laughs, she explores.  Harper notices the little things.  

All the different colors of pumpkins and the order they are stacked on the carts.  “White, orange, yellow, green” she repeats as she runs from one to another.  The bumpy ones, the smooth ones, the curvy ones. 

 She smiles as she runs her fingers over the different textures and laughs as she puts her nose close to smell them.

Autism allows Harper to be completely immersed in what she is doing.  I once heard a quote “Wherever you are, be all there” by Jim Elliott. 

This is Harper.  When she is doing something she loves she is 100% absorbed in it.  

To the outside world it might look like she is ignoring, oblivious, or even unruly.  But she is actually very focused and attentive to what is going on. 

She has her routine and she is putting every sense she has into the experience.  She is connecting with every part of it. She is touching and smelling and seeing.  

Harper experiences life with every part of her and she finds joy in the little things that most don’t even notice.

Before diagnosis I envisioned what our yearly trips to the pumpkin farm would be.  The reality is that they aren’t what I imagined.  

They are better. 

In a world that is so quick to move from one thing to the next just to check it off a box I am fortunate for the chance to slow down and truly experience it. 

Autism allows us to see the little things and to find joy in them.  To find happiness where we are, connect with what we are doing, and to stop and smell the roses…or the pumpkins.