I'm Feeling Good.

I'm feeling good today. Because of me (with a little help from Lars and our friend Dave) a bunch of kids in need of friends have a place (virtual and actual) to come together and forge new friendships.

It all started with a listserv for parents of kids with Asperger's Syndrome. Someone posted a question about the computer game Minecraft. Did anyone else's kid play it?

It turned out A LOT of people had kids who played it. And were obsessed with it.

They included my kid.

So we all started talking, via this listserv. And people started saying, "I wish our kids could connect."

So I said, "Hey, let's start a Minecraft Club." And I proceeded to do just that.

With a great deal of effort from Lars and Dave, we set up a private server, just for these Aspie kids. We needed it to be private because it has to be safe for them. Now they can play the game (which is a totally non-violent, constructive game) together. They can connect with each other over this shared interest obsession.

Maybe the best part, though, is that once a month, in various parts of the state, we will meet in person. I'm hosting the first meeting, and I can't wait. It'll be wonderful.

One unexpected perk from all this is that a mom who lives in a town nearby contacted me to ask if Ben might be interested in hanging out with her son in advance of our club meeting. We jumped at the chance, and yesterday Ben and this other boy became friends, bonding over the computer, their mutual love of animals, and probably a sense that each of them is different from the mainstream and under-appreciated.  I tell Benjy all the time that someday people his own age will appreciate the wonderful qualities he brings to the world. This other boy has wonderful qualities too -- he's a great kid -- and I hope they will continue to appreciate each other.

So all together this is a good day. It's true I couldn't get Benjy to go his fencing class, but he did connect in a nice way with another boy on our private Minecraft server (aptly named by Ben "The Fun Bucket").

And that, Readers, is something to celebrate.