Mafe Maria: Personal stories by autism parent mentor, Maria Stultz

A lovely afternoon camping out in the backyard

a small dome tent lit by a beautiful sunny day among the flowers and trees of our backyard

Recently I found a little surprise in our storage room, and this was the week when we finally pulled it out. The day we were trying it, an unidentified bug flew inside my ear. The sound of its desperate flapping next to my eardrum was a little freaky, but I did great at not freaking out by suspending the thought “there is an insect flying inside my ear”, and by the time we checked it at the E. R. he had gotten out. So next day was the day to truly enjoy our little tent.

Kiki crawled in it with a sleeping bag and a pillow, and while I worked on providing some needed shade for my south-facing growing vegetables, I slipped a few surprises to him and encouraged him to explore and maybe harvest some lettuce to snack on. I asked him (if he was interested) to write a post for my blog regarding his experience in this adventure.

Kiki peeking through the tent's netKiki's photo of Pillo, Calvin and Hobbes, and a few pieces of lettuceKiki, pensive in the tent with Pillo and surprises all around him

He invited me to read what he wrote. I loved it!

Kiki's handwritten 'Camping Trip Experience'

And then we proceeded to have a lovely time inside the tent, playing tic tac toe, Deal or No Deal (Kiki’s favorite these days), wrestling with music selection, munching his toes and venturing to pick so many leaves of lettuce I may need to sow a lot more than I planned.

Kiki's fave photo of me munching his toesSelfie with Bollo and Pillo
Kiki laying with the silhouette of our Sunburnt Honey Locust in the backgroundCloseup of Kiki's smily faceKiki peeking to see mecute Kiki giving me a kiss

Thank you for a lovely time together, gordo mio.

Welcome to my parent mentoring service

Hello, you Super mom of an Awesome autistic child.

If my experience and words speak to you, I invite you to learn about my mentoring service for autism parents.

Intentional parenting, development, and education for our children is my passion. My purpose is to empower you with the emotional and practical support you need to thrive as you reach for every outcome you dream of for you and your child’s life.

Learn More

One comment:

  1. On , Amator Mares wrote:

    Before iphones & computers, we always enjoyed camping in the backyard. Glad there’s some children left who can survive being unplugged! I get the impression walking through the mall sometimes that modern kids are walking automatons glued to screens, and heaven forbid they’re seen with their Mom, much less KISSING her! GROSS! And playing “this little piggy?” SERIOUSLY? lol kids these days. You’re lucky to have an un-programmed one that still likes to cuddle.