The furnace, Chromebook and podcast studio all broke down and it’s only Tuesday

What's up folks. Hope you're this finds you doing well. It's been a day of challenges here. I wanted to run over just few of them and help provide some context to what's going on in The Autism Dad household. I also want to balance things out with some really positive things happening as well. It's been one of those weeks where nothing seems to go right and what really worries me is that it's only Tuesday. So I had my last scheduled interview yesterday and it was highlighting a really cool business that's doing awesome things for the autism community. Everything was going great and Emmett didn't even make an appearance. At some point, I happen to look over at my mixer and noticed that it had stopped recording…

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I needed stitches but #COVID kept me from going to the ER

The boys have school in the morning and I have my last recording of the year scheduled in the afternoon. I'm not sure if that will be tacked onto season 3 or be the first episode of season 4. Decisions decisions. I think it's going to be a relatively slow week. We have groceries ordered and scheduled for delivery on Tuesday and Wednesday. They're from different places and have different schedules. I'm weird about groceries. I like Walmart for most things but prefer Giant Eagle for meat and produce. In the advent of COVID, grocery shopping can amount to multiple deliveries. There are going to be big steps forward in my divorce this week. The progress is good because it's one big step closer to gaining some needed closure for…

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This is how I know I let my kids down and it breaks my heart

I've been under a tremendous amount of pressure this year. I was getting my footing as a single Dad when COVID hit and our lives were once again turned upside down. I'm honestly doing the best I can but I was recently reminded that I need to do better. This story involves Emmett in particular but I'm sure it applies to Elliott and Gavin to some extent as well. Emmett is the absolute sweetest kid. He's going through a rough time but he's always worried about me. Ever since Lizze moved out, he's constantly asking me if I'm okay. Becoming a single parent is not an easy adjustment and while I do my best to manage the emotions and stress, it doesn't always go so well. I've been stressed out…

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2020 hasn’t been all bad and here’s proof

2020 has been a nightmare for most humans, especially those living here, in the US. If you've been following me or reading this website for any length of time, you probably know that I try to focus on the positive. It's not always easy and I don't always do a good job. That said, I thought I would list a few things I'm thankful for because I forgot to do that over Thanksgiving. I know. Shame on me but better late than never. :-) There are number of things I'm thankful for, even during COVID. I'm just going to focus on a few of the bigger ones cause there's too many little ones to mention. The 2020 Trip I'm so thankful that right before what would turn out to be…

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It’s been the longest week ever and it’s not done yet

It's been a long week but we've survived thus far. I spent as much time as possible working because November wasn't very profitable and extra work is necessary to survive December. Thankfully, I've had a few deals come in but I need more to come in to weather the remainder of 2020. The boys have finished the school week on a good note and Emmett has even been making progress on make-up work. I'm quite proud of him. My day was spent staring at this screen, trying to finish up the remaining episodes of this season. I've mentioned before that I'm cutting the season off at 40 episodes, which is still pretty impressive. There's so much work that goes into each episode and I'm only one person. I'm quite proud…

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Ode to remote learning

It's been one of those week where I'm just grateful to have surviving The kids have been on edge because 2020 just seems to drag on and on and on. Remote learning is still challenging, although, Emmett is making a serious effort to get his work caught up and I'm super proud of him. We have another week or two before Christmas break. I need to actually check and see what the exact dates are because it's not in the calendar. It's no secret I hate, and I mean I hate remote learning. The teachers are amazing but the remote experience itself is lacking. I don't miss some of the headaches associated with a typical school year, like school fundraising, packing lunches, or uniforms. I do miss dropping the kids…

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Update on Gavin’s fever

I know I promised this yesterday but life has been absolutely crazy. I'm having to swim a bit harder to keep my head above water. So, I apologize for the delay. I shared the other night that Gavin was running a low grade fever, at least what a low grade fever is for him. He's not showing any other symptoms at all. His fever climbed a little bit that night and then dropped back down a little by morning. Later in the day, he was back up to 99.5°F, which again, is warm for him personally. I'm not sure what is going on but Lizze and I have been talking about it and it could just be one of those weird Gavin things. For the record, this photo is pre-covid.…

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Maybe someday

This is going to be an odd post but bare with me. I very much do not like our house or the neighborhood we live in. If I could, I would find one of those we buy ugly houses like at this website and get out from underneath it. For years we've been talking about moving but have never been able to make that work for a number of reasons. Ideally, I would love to design and build, rather than buy. You may not know this but I have a lot of experience in building houses. When I was still working outside of the home, I ran a contracting company that worked for the largest home builder on the east coast. I did all kinds of work on new construction.…

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