Feeling Cherished

I think this is the essence of love. My husband has always made me feel cherished throughout our relationship. I hope that the main thing I have given each of our children is the feeling of being cherished. I want them to know that they are deeply loved.

Some "experts" question the empathy of persons with autism. The person may seem to be self-involved. He or she may not seem to care about others. I think that even though the person may not appear affectionate, he or she does deeply love if given love.

In the case of our son, he does seem to prefer his furry family member, his dog Pepper. Pepper gets cuddled at least twice a day, albeit on a schedule. He doesn't exclaim that he loves me as often as I would like. However, he has volunteered that he loves me without prompting. I think part of my special purpose in his life is to show him he is cherished, just as it is with my other children.