I know the overall theme of things lately is kinda depressing. The truth is, our lives are very difficult and this passed year has been especially challenging for a number of reasons. I could lie to you all and make it seem like things are better than what they are but after 11 years of writing, I know that people come here because I speak the truth about whatever I’m experiencing, so we can all learn something from it.

You won’t be surprised to learn that today has been one of the hardest days I’ve had in awhile and that’s saying something.

We had to be out the door before 7 AM and make the drive to Akron Children’s Hospital for an 8 AM appointment in Behavioral Health. I left us with 60 minutes to make a roughly 25 minute drive. We were moving right along until there was a really bad accident. Traffic was backed up for miles. It took us 80 minutes to make the roughly 28 mile drive.

The kids had back to back appointments so we were there for a couple of hours.

By the time we were done, it had apparently snowed and everything was covered, including the roads. It took us longer to get back than it did to get there. Elliott ended up getting car sick or his breakfast wasn’t agreeing with him. Either way, he spent the ride home trying not to puke. By the time we got back, it was after lunch and school wasn’t going to happen. It’s covered with a doctor’s note and I kept the school in the loop. This was outside of control. We should have been there and back before 10 AM but it just wasn’t going to happen.

It was really frustrating for everyone because we don’t like being late for anything and we were late today.

The rest of the day was just as exhausting. Elliott didn’t feel better until late afternoon and Emmett is struggling significantly right now. Just trying to keep the two youngest above water is a consuming so much of my time and energy.

We had an incredibly emotional therapy session tonight. It was not easy and I really struggled with it. We all survived and I think in the long run, we’re better for it. The kids finally got some of the answers they’ve been needing to get and hopefully, that will help the healing process.

After therapy, I took the kids to my parents house to hang out a bit and decompress before going home. It was a really nice visit and the kids got along really well. Everyone got to bed a bit later than normal but 2 of the 3 kids are sleeping and the last isn’t far behind.

I have no idea how school and Emmett are going to work out but I have a podcast to record and need to get that done. Emmett is a wild card right now and it’s hard to get anything done when he’s in crisis.

My goal is to get him to at least try and if I have to get him later on, I can do that. Emmett is in a place where neither I nor the school wants to push him too far. We’re not even taking things one day at a time. We’re minute by minute right now.

Having said that, the evening ended on a positive note and I’m very grateful for that.