I celebrated 13 years of marriage to my beautiful wife and best friend yesterday. The evening was low-key and peaceful. Well, there was the tornado watch, tornado warning, heavy rains, sirens, vengeance, sheer winds, red/blue/green/purple/chartreuse colors spiraling across the television screen while the weatherman said to take cover. Nothing we haven't experienced before. We live in the eventful and sometimes mysterious world of autism.

We have been together for more than 15 years. We have seen our share of incredible highs and challenging lows. One thing has stayed with us throughout the entire journey.....we continue to dream.

Dreams, goals, and aspirations are vitally important for every person. Staying motivated to continue forward no matter how heavy the load or difficult the terrain, all starts with having a dream, a goal. Autism. We didn't want to do autism. She didn't want to do autism. I didn't want to do autism. Sam doesn't want to do autism. Luke doesn't want to do autism. I hear people say they "do autism" all the time and I still don't know what that really means. We live our life. Sam has some unique challenges that are extremely tasking on him and on the family. These challenges are a result of a neurological disorder called autism. Autism is not a disease. You don't catch autism because you forgot to wash your hands. This neurological disorder is often combined with other challenges like sensory processing disorder, ADD/ADHD, OCD and a variety of other things and sometimes none of these. There is no clear or concise way to look at the autism spectrum. There is no clear and concise way to look at marriage either.

Every single event that shows progress we celebrate. We celebrate our children and we celebrate our love for one another. Some parents have experienced the moment when they are told their child is "no longer on the autism spectrum." The words "recovered" and "healed" get shared across support groups and everyone celebrates. The same is true when someone shares that their 14 year old said their very first word. Their first word in 14 years. Everyone celebrates.

All of us dream BIG dreams for our children. We should, we must, and if you don't, then others of us will dream those dreams for you. Nothing is impossible. I find that the greatest gifts in life, the mountaintop moments, have come when I have dreamed the impossible. My faith and personal relationship with Jesus Christ has helped me endure life's most challenging times. Whether it was being held at gunpoint and staring down the barrel of a gun, praying that my wife and unborn son will survive emergency surgery, watching MS take everything but love and spirit from my Mom, praying that the challenges of autism would not destroy our marriage or watching Sam do things that we were told he would never be able to do....my faith has carried me through.

Whatever your faith or religious views may be, there is one thing for certain and that is none of us can do it alone. The "it" is life, raising a child with special needs, raising any child, work, friendships, family, marriage...all require more than just me. Sure, I dream of a world without autism, without loneliness, without bullying, without divorce, pain and suffering. Then I quickly remember how rich and full my life is because of Angie, Sam, Luke, my family and friends, and yes...autism, cancer, and MS. I have learned so much from these life experiences. I have learned more about forgiveness and sacrifice because I have experienced it. My dreams change and so do I. Every year I gain a little bit more wisdom and have the scars and wrinkles to show for it. I thank God every day that he gave his one and only Son so that we can know eternal life through him. My dreams may be big, my goals may be big....these are nothing compared to the plan that He has for me.

I have new dreams for the next 13 years of marriage. There are new goals and new adventures ahead. I will continue to dream the impossible and promise to celebrate along the way.