Evangeline; Our Daughter; Our Duck in the Water.

I've been creating podcasts for some time now, and have always had the door shut "just-so"; the kids occupied downstairs, or playing with their dad; recording around midnight and not finishing the editing for multiple days in order for it not to interfere with family-time - and I finally recorded one of the most podcast episodes to date, without using ANY of the above-mentioned tactics.

How, you may ask? Well, first - you need to take your daughter with you to complete the most boring and time-consuming errands ever. And then you need to make sure that your phone is plugged in. And then when she asks you if she can record a podcast with you one day, you say...Why not?! You whip out your phone, plug in the charger, stash it safely on the dash and BOOM - it's go-time.

Evangeline has come up in many of my previous episodes - she is a main character in our "show" - aka, she is my eldest daughter, and first-born child. She is an amazing kid, growing into a beautiful young lady, and hopefully, into a woman that I would want to call a friend! Evangeline also has several special needs, neatly bundled under the umbrella that many of you have heard of - Autism Spectrum Disorder.

She has always been a self-advocate and loves when I am vocal to others about autism and how she deals with it on a daily basis. It makes her feel special, and loved and honored that we don't sweep it under a rug, but we celebrate it with her. She takes courage knowing that her family has got her back 100%, and that we can help others to understand a bit of what might be going on under her calm facade. And, mind you ,it is completely a duck in the water situation when you see my sweet girl. A calm, gentle face. Something that looks like shyness and one of the most well-mannered children on the planet. But underneath all of that beautiful exterior, her feet are paddling like crazy just to keep her moving; to keep her afloat ; to keep her looking...."normal".

I am so proud of my daughter and the fact that she, of all people, would want to join me as a guest on a podcast episode! She is generally very shy, soft-spoken, and almost silent. She can even be a bit specter-like at times ; showing up silently and standing behind or near you for who knows how long until BAM your heart jumps out of your chest because the sight of her is so startling! And to think that she would be comfortable and confident enough to share a bit of herself with the world is so......I'm just so stinking proud of that kid.

If you have the time - check out the episode we worked on together. See how my daughter shines as she talks all about babies (her most favorite subject in the world....ever), God, softball, and her volunteer work with organizations such as The Pregnancy Resource Center of Richmond, VA and Mercy Mall VA - she is a darling, I love her, and she is mine ;-)

#autism #autismawareness #nestingwiththeearleybirds #daughters #Jesus #pregnancyresourcecenterofRichmond #mercymallva