The Perfect Family

Chapter 1: Jack

"Papa! Papa! Maddox took my fox book! I want it back but he won't give it to me," a sound that I heard all too often every morning.

"Okay, let me help you. Come with me, sweetheart" I say as I  fix my tie and am being led into the living room by my 4 year old daughter, Julia.

"Hey, Maddox. Look at this, buddy. Here's your monkey blanket" I say as I place the monkey-covered cloth in front of my 2 year old son, which he took to within a matter of 10 seconds and let go of the fox book.

"There you go sweetheart. All better? Hey, where's your sister?" I ask Julia, as I squatted to eye level.

"She's with Mama and Kyson" Julia answers.

"Well, can you tell Lucy that its almost time to leave for school, please?" I say as I stared at my silver Rolex watch, which reads 7:40am.

"Okay!" Julia responds as she runs up the carpeted steps in search for her twin sister. 

"Thank you, baby" I smile.

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Meanwhile in the bedroom, Emilie is getting Kyson changed for the day and Lucy is debating which princess to take to school.

"I don't know if I want Cinderella or Rapunzel" Lucy says, as she sits on the bed with her mother and brother, a doll in each hand.

Just as Emilie was about to reply, Julia came rushing in looking for Lucy.

"Lucy, come on its time to go! Papa's waiting!!" Julia exclaimed.

"Come on lets go downstairs and Papa can help you decide" Emilie said as she lifts our 4 month old son, Kyson over her shoulder.

As they made their way upstairs, Emilie discovers a red-faced and completely exhausted Maddox over my shoulder, a tear falling from his face.

"What happened?" Emilie asks  completely shocked.

"It took me a while to find Curious George and he got impatient. But he's alright", I reply as I greet her with a kiss on the cheek.

"Okay. As long as he's good now", Emilie sighs.

Here's the thing about Maddox, when he was 6 months old, we noticed that he was not reaching any of the age-appropriate milestones. After his first birthday we got him evaluated and he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. At first we were shocked and our world seemed to shatter because we knew nothing about it. But here we are a year later with a set of therapies and a great support system, and we get by pretty well.

As Lucy and Julia sit patiently by the door, I look to  Emilie with Kyson in her arms and ask "so, what are you doing today?"

"Well, I've got a couple things to get at Target and then I've to get the grocery shopping done", Emilie responds.

"Don't forget, Maddox has occupational therapy and speech therapy at 1:20 and 3:15 this afternoon", I say as I head out the door with the girls.

"Oh, shoot. That's right. It completely slipped my mind. Thanks for reminding me, honey. Hold on, are you taking Maddox with you?" Emilie asks as she opened the door for us and noticed Maddox refusing to get down. 

"Yeah, but I'll bring him back before I head to work" I respond.

"Okay, be careful. I love you" Emilie says. 

"Love you too", I respond.

"Bye Mama!" the twins shout as they run to the car, Lucy deciding to take both dolls.

"Bye girls. Be good", Emilie responds as she closes the door and sets Kyson down in his swing.

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As we walk to the bus stop, I am overcome with a recurring thought. Even though it had been long since I had my surgery and physical therapy sessions to enable me to walk, it still feels a little unusual. But it is a truly blessing to be able to actually walk my kids to school and do other things that I normally would not be able to do had I still been in that wheelchair.

As we approach the bus stop, Maddox begins to hum in a way that signaled nervousness and panic. "What's the matter, buddy?" I asked as I push the stroller further.

"He just dropped his blanket" Lucy observes.

"Here you go, Maddox. Don't cry" Julia says as she picks up the blanket and hands it to her brother.

"Thanks, Jewel Bug!" I wink as Maddox begins to settle down.

Within a matter of minutes we arrive at the bus stop. We still have a while before the bus arrives. We arrived at 7:43 and the bus comes at 7:45.

"Wait, where's Finnegan?" Julia panicks as she searchesfor her fox plush.

"Don't panic, sweetheart. It's in your backpack. I made sure of it. I know you never go anywhere without him" I assure her.

"Thanks, Papa" Julia replies with a smile of relief.

"You're very welcome", I smile back.

Everyone has something they just can't resist. Something they love more than anything. A love so strong it eventually grows into a collection. When you get to know Julia, you'll see that she isn't your typical girl who collects princesses and ponies. However, she has an undying love for foxes. Ever since day one she has had a thing for foxes. Finnegan Fox, the plush that she was searching for is one she has had since the day she was born. Michael brought it over and thought it would be nice for one of the twins to have. From that day forth, everything Julia insists on having is fox-themed. Her favourite films are Disney's The Fox and the Hound, and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

On the other hand, Lucy is a huge Disneyphile. Em and I had always hoped that one of our children would share the passion we had for every Disney film ever made. At the moment, Lucy's two favourite films were Cinderella and Tangled, hence the dolls.

Once the bus comes, the girls engage me in a tight embrace. This moment always brings tears to my eyes. This is our daddy and daughters time. Something about spending time with my daughters before I head off to work sets the tone for my whole day.