no, it's not saxy -- he's still working, for now anyway. there are more rumbles that things aren't going so well (no holiday pay, they canceled the holiday dinner which is when, according to one of the other drivers, they give out bonuses), but for now he's still working. nor am i looking for anything. all the reasons for me to be home are still there, and i'm content with my job at lilley even though i have to wait for the royalties to build up to something decent. i expected it to take time, but i'd be home anyway, so it's no big deal to me.
nope, i'm starting to look around for something for taz. he's 16, and he's been doing occupational prep stuff at school, so i figure it's time to see if we can find a simple weekend thing for him. he's worked in the school cafeteria and library so far as i know, and done "kitchen" things in class. around the house, he kind of helps clean up and serve dinner. occasionally we have him help with actual food prep, though that's not something i'd be comfortable with him doing in an environment where i wasn't sure someone understood autistics. i know one of our local pharmacy stores, walgreen's, i believe, has a policy of hiring autistics and other disabled workers, but i think that's primarily in their warehouses (the news did a story on it).
i'm not quite sure what brought the thought up now. well, more accurately, what made me think it's time to look around. i've actually been thinking about how to transition him into a job for awhile now, but in that nervous mother sort of way. maybe it's because it's a new year, and summer is 6 months away, and it just might take some time to find him something. he'll be 17 in august, and it would be really nice to have something for him by then. part time, of course. even though he should one day go to full time, mama is most definitely not ready for that now, not with him just getting started on the whole job thing.
with all this in mind, i asked kitten to ask her boss if he'd be open to having taz be a bus boy a few hours a day over the weekend on days she works. i'm not expecting a yes, to be honest, but i thought it might be a good starting point for him. kitten knows how to handle him and can help him transition to the work environment, and i know she'd know how to direct him to do his job. because she's there, and another friend who has met taz is there, he'd have people to keep an eye on him and show the other staff how to interact with him. like i said, not really expecting a yes, but it would be the perfect starting point, i think, so i'm trying not to get my hopes up. i'll wait and see what the response is before i look further.
i knew one day we'd have to think about job hunting for him. it feels early, but i know it's not really, especially since job hunting for an autistic is going to be a bit harder than for most people. we have to keep in mind a lot of things, particularly since he's not really a "fast" learner. so he can't really go into a job that would require him to learn a lot of new skills. clean up is something he can do, and bussing tables would only need some direction until he got used to the job. i might try some other local restaurants if kitten's boss doesn't think it's a good idea or that he could afford it. i just hope me hunting for a job for him isn't a problem. i mean, the kid probably could fill out a job application with direction, but it would be totally illegible. he just can't write that small...or that clearly.
see, a lot to think about; things taz would never even consider. heck, if i weren't job hunting for him, he'd probably never even think to look. hopefully, though, the past few years are a good indication that he'll adjust to working with minimal problems.
no, i'm not at all worried about this step, really. maybe it's a good thing it'll probably take a little while to find something for him...give us both time to adjust.
~*~
word of the moment: presentiment
a feeling that something will or is about to happen : premonition
