Remember last night when I said that I suspected Emmett was going to have a difficult time this morning? That turned out to be the understatement of the year. 

Emmett was beside himself all morning long. Lizze and I tried forever to help him through whatever emotional hurdle was in his way but we didn’t manage to do that. 

We did however, manage to get him to agree to go with me and talk to his teachers. 

In order to further redirect his attention away from his anxieties, I picked up donuts while getting gas on our way to school. We ended up being thirty minutes late but we made it. He didn’t even need me to walk him in because the redirection was a success.. 

This is great news if you look at the end result and arguably, the end result is what matters. 

Having said that, the means to get to that successful end took a very heavy toll on both Lizze and myself. The screaming and yelling is not how we want to start the day. Frankly, part of what makes it so exhausting for us is that we squeeze out every last drop of patience we have, and give it to him. 

We don’t yell or match his demeanor because that’s just not productive, especially with a kid like Emmett. We basically have to reach down deep and remain as calm and collected as we possibly can. 

It’s important to know that in the moments I’m being screamed at, remaining calm and not reaching isn’t always the easiest thing in the world to pull off. It really isn’t. 

It felt like we experienced World War III and neither of us had even eaten breakfast yet.