Twas Brillig

Once upon a time, in a magical kingdom far away (okay… Utah) there lived a fat housewife beautiful queen named Brillig, whose life was turned up-side-down when she learned that her perfect kingdom wasn’t as perfect as she thought it was.

See, Queen Brillig had four beautiful children. All were smart, delightful, and so darling you could just eat them (though she didn’t— don’t you admire her restraint?). One day, though, she learned that her youngest prince wasn’t quite right. She learned that he wasn’t well, in body or mind. Many tests were taken, many negative results returned, but everything kept pointing to that one scary word: autism.

Now, Queen Brillig was well aware that “autism” was NOT the end of the world. Her young prince was still delightful and gorgeous and among the most precious of her acquaintances. As far as Queen Brillig was concerned, he was perfect in every way.  But it did shatter her perfect world a bit to know that his life would be much harder than the lives of her other family members. He would be subjected to medical evaluations, blood draws and needles, prejudices. He would be a bully’s target, a community’s “burden”, and misunderstood by the world in general.

Queen Brillig began associating with the medical community— doctors, therapists, and insurance companies. What she originally thought was going to be a friendly relationship suddenly turned into all-out war. Queen Brillig had not anticipated that this would be so difficult, frustrating, and even hateful. Somehow she’d thought that those people were supposed to be there to help her and her family in their time of need, never realizing that actually they were the hardest part of the whole process.

Queen Brillig soon learned that in her magical kingdom there was nothing but closed doors.

Which is why, when presented with a beautiful new palace in the kingdom, Queen Brillig and her husband, King Brian the Handsome, rejected the new palace. Queen Brillig was tempted— oh how she was tempted by the beauty and luxury of the new palace!!! But King Brian the Handsome was very wise and reminded her that luxury and beauty do not matter right now. They both agreed that what matters is the well-being of the whole family, most specifically their youngest prince.

And while this palace might satisfy some of their wants, it would not meet their needs. And Queen Brillig is beginning to learn the difference.

There are other kingdoms throughout the land DO give a crap about autism. Other kingdoms require insurance companies to cover autism-related therapies. Other kingdoms allow a child under the age of three to see a mental health professional. Other kingdoms maybe even care enough to actually figure out what’s wrong with the young prince— what is his actual diagnosis? Other kingdoms have programs in place to answer that question. Other kingdoms… other kingdoms.

Queen Brillig and King Brian the Handsome were in an interesting situation. They’d sold their former palace before the palace-selling market completely tanked, and then put all of the money (their palace, in a stroke of great luck, had doubled in value in the three years that had passed from when they built it to when they sold it) into a high-interest savings account. Every month they deposited what would have been that month’s mortgage payment into the bank account too. And in the meantime, they lived for free off the kindness and mercy of Queen Brilligsmom and King Brilligsdad, who were passing the time in the Canary Islands and needed someone to take care of their palace. This put the happy Brillig family in a truly fantastic position. They had the means to buy a house today, or to buy months from now. They could buy a new palace the moment their “gut” said, “this is it, this is the one, this is the place.”

And so far, their guts have said no such thing. Their guts have said, “no. This isn’t it. Wait.”

And you know what? Queen Brillig and King Brian the Handsome have learned to trust those promptings and believe that they come from a much Higher Source— a Source who loves them, a Source who is looking to bless them. A Source who loves their little children even more than they do. A Source who will not lead them astray.

And so they wait… and make plans to leave their current kingdom, as it no longer meets their needs. In which direction? Who knows? But they are researching, planning, praying, even daydreaming a bit… And by the time they NEED to know, they have full confidence that they WILL know.

And Queen Brillig is beginning to realize that she would happily live in a shack with a rocky dirt floor and a corrugated cardboard roof if it meant that her family was where they were supposed to be.

Because following those promptings, whatever they may turn out to be, is surely the ONLY way that we will truly be able to live happily ever after.