5...More...Sleeps...

Look at that face.  Is that not the face of anticipation??

Last night was the “Special O” Christmas bowling night where the big man shows up to “surprise” everybody. It was at this event 7 years ago that Riley surprised us all and went up to sit with Santa for the very first time.

Ever since, he has never looked back. At age 20, we even got our first Mall Santa picture.

Riley was eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival. He was ready. He knew what to do…the same thing they have done for the past 6 years. They would call his name, he would bound up to sit on Santa’s knee and the conversation would go EXACTLY like this:

Santa:  What’s your name big fella?
R:  My name’s Riley Tucker.
Santa:  And what would you like for Christmas?
* At this point, Riley would recite his entire Christmas list *  This year's list...
R:  Frosty the Snowman the original TV classic with the cover from Amazon I found it a DVD player 3 movie Illumination Despicable Me 1, 2 and 3 Shrek the Ultimate Collection Madagascar the Ultimate Collection Cheaper by the Dozen 1 and 2. 
Santa:  I’ll see what I can do for you.

This year…well…*gulp*…they did things a little differently. To be more efficient, they called up the teams one at a time and everyone got to sit on Santa’s knee and have a picture taken. There was not a lot of chit chat. I saw things slowly slipping sideways.

This was very confusing for Riley. He had been waiting patiently to have his “conversation” with Santa. He went up, sat on Santa's knee and waited for Santa to start.

Only he didn't. He smiled for the camera. And then he waited. 

Some awkward silence.

Santa gave him his cookie which basically was the “get off my knee and move along” gesture. Riley World has a hard time understanding gestures. So…Riley sat there still waiting.

Look how excited he is about the cookie.

More awkward silence.

And just as I was about to call Riley down, Santa asked “What would you like for Christmas?” followed by the “I’ll see what I can do for you.”

With that...all was right in Riley World and he had his jacket on and was out the door in the blink of an eye. 

Wishing you all a wonderful & safe holiday season!! 

25 Years in the Making...

If you are new to Riley World and would like to take a stroll down memory lane with me...Click here or on the photo to have a look at the first 19 Chapters in Riley World

Twenty-five years ago, you came into this world. Two and a half decades. One quarter of a century. When the heck did I get so old?!?!? 

Little did we know that life, as we knew it, would never be the same.

When you were born, you were the same weight/length as J2 was...only you were bald.
When you were born, 1 in 150 were diagnosed with autism. Today, it is more like 1 in 59.
When you were born, the movie Rain Man was the closest thing to autism that people could relate to.

Growing up, I was never a very patient person. Becoming a parent, well…never changed that.  

After J2, I thought nothing or no one would ever be able to test my patience like he did. I was wrong.

You changed me.

Who knew there would be so many doctors with such long, LONG waiting lists. 
Who knew there would be so many forms to be filled out. So, SO many forms. 
Who knew there would be so many tears. Tears of joy, sadness, laughter and often times, hysteria.

You have brought autism awareness to so many.

In the early years, it was in the form of a high-pitched scream that would silence a food court. Pretty sure it caused hearing loss to anyone within a 5-block radius.  

As you grew and matured, the awareness you spread was not so ummmm…loud and overwhelming for others (or us). I imagine it had to do with the popularity of earbuds/noise-cancelling headphones.

Nowadays it is your charm and endearing qualities that attract people to you.

You changed our world.

You have changed the lives of many.

You continue to change the world.

Happy 25^th Riley-man!  
We are so proud of you!  ❤