I’m finding myself feeling a bit overwhelmed today. I’m relieved that Gavin is less vulnerable to COVID because that’s been a big worry for a long time. I’m relieved that the boys are doing better in school because remote learning has been a challenge. I’m also relieved that I won the power struggle with the stupid dog over going potty outside.

Work has been incredibly slow this month, meaning March is going to be a leaner month and will likely present some challenges. That could literally change at any time though because I pick up new client all the time, some big and some small. I’m working on a few longer term projects at the moment and invoicing is still a couple weeks out.

I’ve spent the last few days pouring over this weeks podcast audio because there were some technical issues that I had to work around. It took quite a bit longer to edit and mix as a result and I hate doing this at the last minute.

On a side note, this week will be the first week that I release a full transcript of the episode. I’m trying to be as inclusive as possible and now everyone can either listen or read. Whatever meets their needs.

I have to finish prepping for my interview on Thursday. I’m really excited about this interview because it’s a bit outside of the norm for me but it’s an amazing story and something I wholeheartedly support. I want to try and branch out a little bit and not live inside of the same autism box each week.

One of the focuses is on special needs parents sharing their stories. Another is information that is beneficial to the community. I also want to put some focus on Dad stuff in general (autism related or not). I understand there are huge differences between more typical parenting and special needs parenting but there are also many similarities. I want to remain true to my roots but at the same time, all Dad’s can benefit from other Dad’s sharing their experiences. There’s enough overlap that it’s universally beneficial.

I don’t think there’s just one single thing that has me feeling overwhelmed. It’s more likely a combination of many things.

Today, I was dealing with random weirdness, the most frustrating of which was the dog. Ruby decided that she simply didn’t want to go potty outside. I know the hawk has been a concern lately but that wasn’t the issue today. All of a sudden, she has decided that she doesn’t like the snow. Every other time, she enjoys it, as long as it’s not more than an inch or so because she’s tiny.

She can be stubborn but so can I. I took her outside many times throughout the day and if she refused, she went back in her kennel. This went on until right before dinner. The kids wanted me to let her out but I knew this was a power struggle and I sure as shit wasn’t going to be defeated by a 5lb dog.

She finally gave in and couldn’t hold it anymore and I took her outside and she ran right down into the yard, went potty and came right back into the house. She won’t go potty in her kennel so I knew it was only a matter of time before she caved. Once she came back into the house, she was once again free to roam.

The kids did pretty well today and I don’t remember there being much in the way of fighting. That’s certainly not a bad thing. The COVID vaccine side effects have worn off and Gavin is back to his old happy go lucky self again. That’s definitely a good thing.

I’m just in a funk. There are a few things that I’m worried about and they seem to be eating away at me today. I’m hoping that by forcing myself to write tonight, that I can go to sleep and wake up in a better state of mind.

Tomorrow is a new day and we’ll see what is throws my way.