PUZZLES & CAMO

SHELLY HUHTANEN

Shower Jokes

I told Broden's BCBA the story and she started to tear up, "That is the best story I have heard all day. Thank you for sharing that with me." The next day, I told my hiking partner about it and she giggled. "Shelly, it's the little things these days that get you through. Thanks for making me laugh."

After watching the news for the last week or so, I've been searching even harder for things to be grateful for and experiences in my life to make me smile. I realized I didn't have to look that far this past week to get a giggle, and what was special about that moment was that I was able to share it with others to make them smile. I've learned that those moments are the best because they are a gift that keeps giving, a gift of spreading laughter and joy out into the world, something we need more of these days.

The other day, Broden's BCBA brought up the fact that he'll be 15 years old this March. Obviously, I'm aware that every year he'll get older but, for some reason, saying he will be 15 years old seemed a lot older than 14 years old. I'm not sure why. I kept saying it over and over again. Fifteen years old? Already? Don't even talk to me about teaching him how to shave. I'm definitely not there yet. In my world, I'm perfectly content picturing him running around in his Minion pajama pants and sequined slippers. I'll tackle the concept of shaving another time, thank you very much.

As I'm reminded of the days that go by, as his mom, I understand how important it is to continue working with him on life skills. As always with Broden, there is a little clock that continues to tick in my head. As he gets older, I'm getting older too. I won't be around forever to care for him, so we need to keep pushing to make sure he is as independent as possible. Broden being capable of showering himself is very important to me and it's something we continue to work on in the morning.

A few days ago, just like any other morning, I was working with Broden on his showering skills. As I was standing in the shower in my workout clothes, I turned around to grab the bottle of shampoo. My other son, Hayden, and Broden use the same shampoo. As I grabbed the bottle, I started to wonder how much shampoo his big brother was using every morning. There was barely any in the bottle, but I thought if I squeeze it over and over again, I would be able to get just enough for Broden's hair that morning.

I turned around and explained to Broden our dilemma and proceeded to squeeze the bottle over and over again. As shampoo started to shampoo started to pour into my hand, the bottle started to make a funny sound, like when you try to get the last bit of ketchup out of the bottle. Broden started to laugh. He laughed like I'd never heard him laugh before. I kept squeezing the bot squeezing the bottle to make the sound, and then he yelled out, "Ewww!" Through my laughter I said, "Does that sound like a fart noise?" He kept giggling and said, "Ewww!" each time I did it. At this point, I had about 10 times too much shampoo in my hand. Once he was out of the shower and in his robe, I started to make "fart" noises to make him giggle. I grabbed his "fart book" from the bedroom and we took turns pushing buttons to emulate the sound that we heard in the shower. His giggle was so infectious and genuine. I couldn't get enough of it. What was so special about that moment was that he laughed at something that anyone else would think was funny. It didn't matter how infantile the joke was at the time. It was a joke and it was funny!

I told his BCBA the story and she started to tear up, "That is the best story I have heard all day. Thank you for sharing that with me." The next day, I told my hiking partner about it and she giggled. "Shelly, it's the little things these days that get you through. Thanks for making me laugh."

I keep his "fart book" nearby and when I need to laugh, or want to hear Broden's giggle, I'll push a few buttons on the book. Laughing about something as trivial as hearing a fart noise is what we need right now. Life is heavy these days. Our nation seems more divided than ever. Maybe we should take some advice from Broden and find some joy in the world by laughing. No one can deny the power of a good belly laugh. •

PUZZLES & CAMO

Shelly Huhtanen is an Army wife stationed at Fort Benning, GA who has a child with autism. She enjoys sharing her experiences of day-to-day life caring for her son with autism while serving as an Army spouse. She authored "Giving a Voice to the Silent Many" that encompasses many stories of raising a child with autism in the military. Shelly is passionate about autism advocacy for our military and works to bring awareness to our local legislators and command about providing better support for our military autism community, such as better health care and education.