Let me talk about my sparkly trousers:
Yes; they're a bit of fun...
But, for me, they were so much more. They represent an intense and absolute depth of unrivalled autistic joy and reverberating glimmers.
From the moment I saw them in the shop twinkling and sparkling in the August sunshine (yes; there was a moment of sunshine in August in the UK)...the last pair, in my size, in the sale...and I had a discount voucher...I had to try them on...Oh my, oh my, sooo comfortable! I had to have them. I danced (in my head) to the counter and they were mine. I couldn't stop talking about them with my daughter, how much joy these trousers were bringing me, how they made my heart dance and my stomach fill with fluttering butterflies. I couldn't stop thinking about them. I couldn't stop looking at them. I regularly tried them on at home, but
WOOOOOE!, the autistic mask: "What will people think?" "People will look at me." "They'll say I look ridiculous".
So 3.5 months' after I bought them, Christmas jumper day reared its ugly head (years of fruitless , demoralising searching in vain for a jumper I could bear to wear). "THE trousers!" I thought...
The entire day, I felt like I was walking on air, invincible (yes; car drivers couldn't possibly not see me!). Every time I caught sight of them, I felt another glimmer or surge of joy. I suddenly didn't care what people thought, because my own feelings were so powerful.
I felt like I could show up for the day and be the best version of myself. This is the power of autistic joys and accommodations (in this instance, turning Christmas jumper day on its head).
So, there you go, autistic joy, glimmers and masking all wrapped up in the tale of the sparkly trousers.
What makes you feel like you're walking on air? LIke the world is your oyster? How can you build more of this into your days?