Time for some honest reader feedback.

I've been working on this blog for almost two weeks now. It's so therapeutic, and such fun. I haven't made much $$$ though yet.... less than ten dollars. Ha. But it's been fun.

Some of my fellow successful blogger friends have been providing me with helpful feedback. The two biggest issues seem to be that the cutesy titles don't help with search results. But what should I do - it's my literary style, I love it, and I would HATE to title my posts with boring titles such as "Dealing with denial when your chid is autistic", "The evaluation process". BORING. Can't life be a little fun?

Secondly - and more concerning to me - is the fact that I literally do not receive any comments on my entries. I have had 2000+ hits so far - which is massive - but no one comments. I'm baring my soul to you, folks, and while I do get private comments on Facebook and email complimenting me on the content - which I appreciate - that doesn't help the blog look like an 'involved' blog with a community of readers. The casual reader who chances here through  google search (and believe me, I got quite a few hits from genuine autism searches) won't want to stay if it seems like an abandoned blog where I'm talking to the wall. Or myself. Her advice was to end my posts with open ended questions to get my readers involved.

The trouble is, I don't have any questions. Most of you readers are not Autism Moms, just friends of mine from Facebook and the Jewish Mom's forum. And I hate ending posts with questions. I love ending with a punch, with suspense, drawing my readers in to want more and to come back for more.

So tell me, readers. What do you think of all this? Do you prefer clever, deep titles, or is it easier for you to open a topic when it's clear and simple? And do let me hear from you: what brings you to this blog? Are you dealing with special needs yourself or just a casual reader? How did you arrive here - from FB/forums or via a search?

Also - if you're an autism mom or are part of an autism community, spread the word about the blog. Again, my chief objective in running this blog is not the money - although of course it's nice :) - but to reach out to other moms floundering in the sea. I have so much to share and so many products to review. But I'm hesitating, as I don't seem to be reaching the target audience yet.

If any of you are experienced bloggers and can throw me a bone on getting more audience participation and reaching out to the target audience, please let me know.

See, I didn't end the post with a question. It's not my style. But there's  paragraph of questions higher up the page!

DENIAL IS A RIVER IN EGYPT

Of the five stages of grief, I spent the least amount of time in denial. By nature, I'm very much a realist, which is a good thing; when faced with a challenge, I scream and kick and insist that it isn't happening. But then I dust myself off and spring into action. I'm also an overthinker, overanalyzer, and researcher; all good traits unto themselves, but unfortunately I also tend to obsess and engage in fatalistic thinking. In plain English, I jump to the worst case scenario immediately. Positivity is not my strong suit and I'm a pessimist by nature. It's a defense mechanism my mind employs so that I don't have false hopes and make false promises. It's an inborn trait, embellished by my upbringing and made worse by my long journey through infertility. Because I couldn't bear disappointment, I consistently conditioned myself to expect the worst so I wouldn't be let down. This continued when I became a mother and when this whole business started. It has taken several years of hard work to stop jumping to negative conclusions all the time; but 2 1/2 years ago it was my instant go-to place.

HURRICANE DOVI STILL IN FULL FORCE

Thank G-d for a return to normalcy,
That is, for everyone but me!
Sandy may have come and gone like a dream,
But thanks to the B.o.E., Hurricane Dovi still reigns supreme!

It's been a trying time here at Chez Blogowitz due to the Board of Ed closures due to Hurricane Sandy. Yesterday was kind of manageable; my husband came home early from work and kept him busy. Today, private schools in my neighborhood are all back to normal, but the Board of Ed is still closed, so Dovi is still home. Now I hear that it's closed tomorrow too. It is getting difficult.

Yesterday, while I was drinking my morning coffee and Dovi was safely ensconced in bed, he did what he usually does when he has a dirty diaper and is bored; he stripped down to his birthday suit and painted a masterpiece I refer to as Poopie Picasso. Unfortunately the most unpleasant part of autism is a phenomenon known as fecal smearing. I leave the rest up to your imagination, if you haven't lost your lunch yet. I spent half the morning cleaning him up - it was indescribably disgusting - and the other half of the morning keeping him away from his reeking room and trying not to gag. After I finally dropped him off at a lovely volunteer family (more on them later), I spent the entire afternoon taking apart his bed, disinfecting it, soaking and washing his bedclothes and linens, and putting it all back together.

Thank goodness, due to a bunch of precautions we took last night - which I'll elaborate on as the story on this site builds - we didn't have a repeat incident this morning. We do, however, have a raided and ransacked kitchen which will take me hours to clean up.

Due to the MTA closures, neither my cleaning help nor Dovi's Home Health aide have been able to come so far and probably won't for the time being. And now I hear that the Board of Ed is still closed tomorrow. I am worrying for my mental health.

Those of you who have not personally dealt with an autistic, hyperactive child cannot begin to comprehend what I'm talking about. So please don't judge.

Suffice it to say, I'm grateful to HaShem that my family and community got through the actual storm with no damage, power outages or loss of life.

But the collateral damage might just be my mental health.

Here's to hoping his school reopens tomorrow. Time to start praying!!!!

ETA: Looks like my prayers were accepted. School WILL be open tomorrow BH. Whewwwww.

SO WHERE YOU WHEN YOU HEARD THE NEWS? ME, I WAS IN... SHOCK

Most - if not all - autism moms can pinpoint the exact moment they knew that life the way they knew it was essentially over. They can clearly remember where they were sitting, perhaps what they were wearing, and what the atmosphere was like in the room when they heard the news.  And they would do anything - ANYTHING - to freeze that moment, to grab it by the horns, pull out a magic Time Turner and turn back the time so that they never, ever, ever experience that moment again. That horrible freefall, that moment when the floor underneath them simply pulverized into nothingness and they found themselves falling, falling through the air into an endless chasm below, flailing and gasping and scrabbling in the emptiness, hoping to find something - anything - any remote sliver of hope to hold on to.

Unfortunately, that moment is immortalized forever in a report sitting neatly in a yellow folder in my dining room bureau drawer.