paper towels. They were probably the least absorbent paper towels I had ever seen. I ran out to the car as I tore the plastic off, and shoved the wrapping in my pocket, “Here, this is all they had.” Broden was now banging his knees together due to his frustration, and I knew they were going to bruise. I shoved blankets between his knees to keep him from hurting himself. Mark turned to me defeated, “I can’t figure it out. I think his purple iPhone died. We’re going to have to buy him one in Huntsville.” I told Mark there was only one way I knew that would possibly work to get through Atlanta, and it was going to be painful for us, but it would calm Broden. Mark gave Broden another iPhone, “This is not yours, but it has all of your videos and music on it.” He took it begrudgingly and then I went to my music list and started to play “Don’t Stop

Believin'" by Journey, "Broden, I'll choose a song by Journey and then you choose a song." Mark counted. We listened to "Don't Stop Believin'" thirty-three times.

On the other side of Atlanta, Mark stopped at another gas station to take a break. I headed to the bathroom, so I could stand in a bathroom stall and silently scream to myself. I walked back to the car and slowly sat in the passenger’s seat to resume my position. I turned to Mark and he was sitting there grinning from ear to ear, “Shelly, I figured out the problem. Broden had dimmed the brightness of the screen so low that we couldn’t see it. I had to shove the phone under the seat away from the sun to figure it out.” I looked over at Broden and he was smiling, listening to music on his purple iPhone again, acting like nothing had happened.

"I scoff every time I relive the moment when I was told that I should get Broden an iPad because of all the great apps for autism that were being created."

Once we got to Hunstville, we bought Broden a new iPhone. The fear of his iPhone dying on a road trip was too much to bear. It was waiting for us on the front porch when we got home from our trip. I took Broden to the local Apple store and grabbed every phone case that would fit his new phone and laid them all out in front of him, on the table, "Which one do you want Broden?" He picked out the one I knew he would choose. It was a blue case, one of his favorite colors. I put everything together for him. As we walked out to the car I said, "Look at your new blue Iphone! Isn't it the coolest!?" He turned to me and said, "I want purple iPhone." •

PUZZLES & CAMO

Shelly Huhtanen is an Army wife stationed at Fort Jackson, SC. She enjoys sharing her experiences of her day-to-day life caring for her son with autism. Shelly authored Giving a Voice to the Silent Many that encompasses many stories of raising a child with autism in the military. She also teaches Public Communication at the University of South Carolina and has contributed to EP Magazine for over 10 years.