<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"I had an absolutely wonderful weekend. My family lives far away from me, and we don&amp;#039;t see each other very often. As luck would have it, one of my neices had a school trip planned just a few hours away from us, and her mother (my beautiful sister-in-law) was along as a chaperone. I loaded the kids into the car and away we went to spend some time with my side of the family. It&amp;#039;s so terrific to be around that kind of love and support. In addition to getting to hang out with their aunt and cousin, the kids got the ohmygosh thrill of an indoor pool at the hotel. Anna has always been a fish in water, and swimming is great low-impact therapy for David&amp;#039;s leg, so we stayed a little later at the hotel after saying goodbye to my family and I let them swim and swim and swim. There was a lifeguard on duty (which you rarely see at an indoor hotel pool), and we were the only ones in the pool for awhile. She was watching us all with a mixture of attentiveness and curiosity until I had to open my mouth. She had asked David to move to the side of the pool so that she could fish something out of the water that had fallen in. He ignored her, and I had to explain that he was a child with autism and may not always respond to verbal commands. Then I got his attention and after a few attempts, I got him to move over. I looked up and saw her face, and I saw her look at him differently, putting the label in place. Kid with autism. A few moments later, Anna asked me a question about Easter, and I reminded her that Easter was Daddy&amp;#039;s weekend. I saw the lifeguard looking at me, and felt the label weigh on my shoulders. Single mom of a kid with autism. I watched the kids splash and play for a good long while, smiling as Anna tried patiently to teach David how to float, supporting his back and encouraging him to keep his head up and relax his body. It took awhile, but he got it, and he was floating. I looked up and saw the lifeguard looking at Anna, and I smiled bigger when I saw that label falling on her. Terrific, supportive sister of a kid with autism. April is National Autism Awareness month. One in 110 children are diagnosed with autism every year \u2013 odds are you know one. Sadly, you probably know a lot of single parents who live with and love those children as well. I&amp;#039;d like to encourage all you to find ways to support them, whether it&amp;#039;s through donation to a good autism-related cause, respite support for the family, or just being a caring friend. Yes, I&amp;#039;m a parent of a kid with autism, but I prefer his other label. The one that he shares with his sister: Phenomenal kid with limitless possibilities. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/a46046/labels-210/>