What a long night! Scott is autistic and believe me, it is mild compared to his Tourettes. People often ask me if Scott’s Tourettes happens while he is asleep, I had no idea… The short answer is no, when Scott is asleep he is perfectly still and quiet, but getting to sleep is a marathon and that’s without an anxiety attack and thankfully, he is really happy on this trip thus far. Ready for bed, pretty tired after a long drive and day in general, we do the “good night Johnboy” stuff from The Walton’s, that so many of us grew up with, Scott keeps insisting his name is Scott and does not get it at all, but we did laugh a lot, even if the humour was due to two completely different reasons. Then it started; Scott’s whole body in action. I never considered a light caravan would record every movement from head tossing to feet swapping; a constant movement like a ship in a storm. Lucky there were no other vans in the area as our van must have looked like the love boat. What was amazing is that I never felt angry or rebellious at any time, it’s as though my motherly instincts completely forgave him for his inability to stop the movement. As the caravan shook and swayed from side to side I would occasionally ask him to try and stay still and my heart felt sad as he tried so hard. Eventually he fell into a deep sleep and all was calm and quiet. I lay quietly and my heart was heavy thinking about the feeling of exhaustion and anxiety he must have and how when peace comes it must be such a relief. Then around 3am we were cold, I woke up freezing as the expander caravan leaves each bed hanging off the end surrounded by cold air. Scott was tossing again and I asked him in the dark, “are you OK?”, “No I’m cold” he replied. I felt a strong instinct as a mother to comfort him and keep him warm. His sleeping bag zip had broken and he had little more than his favourite faux fur rug to keep him warm. We both got up, put all of our day cloths on and I packed him back into bed with a good night kiss; after a bit of caravan rocking and rolling we slept till day light. Corryong is at the foot hills of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales and just entering late autumn it is very beautiful, the colours of the trees and the magnificent landscapes are breathtaking. There is something to inspire an artist in every direction. After a long night, Scott and I were pretty sprite and went for a walk around the park. Guys, if you ever come to Corryong make sure you drop in for a night at Colac Colac Caravan Park, truly beautiful and the owners make you feel very comfortable. You don’t even need a caravan as they are really well set up with cabins, all very romantic. Everybody should do the trip here once. Day one done and Scott has already drawn up two pieces of work. We have had the best day and it passed by so quickly. We finished the day with a BBQ chicken and a glass of wine and Scott had a raspberry soft drink. Now we‘re going to play snakes ladders for a while and then off to bed for an early start tomorrow to catch the light on the mist across the mountains… Scott said it’s been a great day and he has not mentioned boredom once. Cheryle
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