The Crayon Box That Talked

by Shane DeRolf

While walking into a toy store the day before today

I overheard a crayon box with many things to say

"I don't like Red!" said Yellow and Green said "Nor do I"

"And no one here likes Orange but no one knows just why"

"We are a box of crayons that doesn't get along

Said Blue to all the others "Something here is wrong"

Well, I bought that box of crayons and took it home with me

And laid out all the colors so the crayons all could see

They watched me as I colored with Red and Blue and Green

And Black and White and Orange and every color in between

They watched as Green became the grass and Blue became the sky

The Yellow sun was shining bright on White clouds drifting by

Colors changing as they touched becoming something new

They watched me as I colored - they watched me till I was through

And when I finally finished I began to walk away

And as I did the crayon box had something more to say

"I do like Red!" said Yellow and Green said, "so do I"

And Blue you were terrific! So high up in the sky

"We are a box of crayons each one of us unique

But when we get together the picture is more complete"

Seriously? Just Help the Kid Open the Damn Door!

I have wanted to share the following story for a long time, but when I think about it I tend to get angry all over again. Today, instead of pushing it to the back of my mind once more, I have decided it's time to share. After all, April is autism awareness month. After reading this post, I believe that those of you with children on the spectrum will understand why reliving this has been hard for me, and those of you who know little about autism will hopefully gain some valuable insight.


I worked as a middle school para-professional in the special education department from 1996 until the year 2000. I really enjoyed my job. Our department had a great team (the best in the school district and I'm not just tooting my own horn) and inclusion was of the utmost importance to us. Our students thrived to the point that we almost hated to send them on to high school for fear that everything we had helped them achieve would be thrown by the wayside.


The respect I felt for Mrs. M, the special education teacher that I worked with, changed however the day that I walked into the classroom and found her and Conner, one of our non-verbal autistic students, in the room. 

Conner was completely stressed out. His lunch tray was on the teachers desk, untouched and Mrs. M informed me that she wasn't allowing him to eat his lunch until he opened the bathroom door by himself. She told me she knew he could do it. She'd seen him open the door on his own before, therefore, she refused to give in and open it for him.

Conner was told he could eat his lunch after he opened the bathroom door by himself. This, alone, made me very upset, but when I looked down and saw that Conner's Pull-Up was so wet that it had ripped and fallen to the floor, I came unglued! The following thoughts raced around in my mind: Wasn't it enough that Conner realized he needed to go to the bathroom and went to the door? Was it really that big of a deal if he didn't turn the damn knob all the way? He was reaching out for help. So what? I didn't believe for one minute that Conner was refusing to turn the door knob just to be spiteful. Somewhere, inside his brain, he had a valid reason; we just didn't know what it was! In my eyes, his behavior certainly was not such to withhold his lunch from him.


In the sake of my rising blood pressure, I will skip a few details and let you know that I ended up in the principal's office with Mrs. M.  She justified her actions by saying that she had discussed the situation with Conner's foster mother and "It wasn't like he couldn't go to the bathroom. He was wearing a Pull-Up." The principal listened graciously and told me he understood why I was upset, but he also had total and complete faith in Mrs. M. (Of course he did! Even if he didn't, he wouldn't admit it in front of me. That's what "good" principals do; they back up their faculty.) Mrs. M and I ended up agreeing to disagree, and I quit at the end of the school year.


Mrs. M retired a couple of years later. I often wonder if she ever looks back and regrets the way she handled that situation. More importantly, I wonder how many children/adults with autism we, as a society, unintentionally hurt because we just don't understand what is going on in their heads.

As for me, I still work for the school district, just not in the special education department. I have the best of both worlds. Each weekday I get to work with sweet little Kindergarten children for a few hours, then come home and be the best mom ever to my autistic son Cody. Now I'm tooting my own horn!

Merry Christmas Versus Happy Holidays

Political correctness is filtering its way into our lives to the point that we have to censor ourselves less we offend someone. People who work in retail, among others, are told they must replace "Merry Christmas" with "Happy Holidays" when interacting with customers.

During the month of December, I celebrate Christmas, not the holidays. I have never wrapped holiday gifts, don't hang holiday lights, never put up a holiday tree. I don't prepare and serve a holiday dinner and I have never read "Twas The Night Before the Holiday". My family and I celebrate Christmas.

If I happen to wish someone a "Merry Christmas", and they don't celebrate like I do, why be offended? I don't go around wishing people "Merry Christmas" just to tick them off, and it shouldn't be taken that way.

When other people celebrate a religious holiday according to their beliefs, I don't get offended. In fact, I admire that they have devotion to their religion. If someone were to wish me "Happy Hanukkah", I wouldn't feel insulted, even though it is not my faith. And if someone has no spiritual beliefs, why not at least be at peace with Christians who are celebrating joy and happiness, without getting all worked up?

I, for one, will not be wishing anybody "Happy Holidays", this year as I celebrate Christmas. If, by chance, you don't celebrate Christmas, a simple "thank you" will suffice for me wishing you peace and goodwill. Please just smile back, nod politely and we can go our separate ways.

Merry Christmas!

Peeing Perspectives

Girls like clean restrooms, especially when travelling.
This bathroom is in a brand new frozen yogurt building in Las Vegas. My friend insisted that I get a picture because not only was it clean, it was painted and tiled cute as well.

I am very picky about public bathrooms and could probably tell anyone where the nicest ones are along I-5 and I-15, as well many other roads. And I can for sure tell people which bathrooms are best in cities that I am familiar with.

Guys, on the other hand, seem to have no problem peeing wherever they may be. In fact, when my boys were little, they would occasionally shower with their dad. One day Chase told me, "Dad says it's okay to pee down the shower drain." I freaked! Why would men think that it's okay to pee down the drain of a tub people bathe in? I told my boys (husband included) that we don't wash in the toilet, so we certainly don't pee in the shower! Eew!