Working to become the leader my family needs me to be

I know I'm so far behind and I'm not keeping up with this blog. It's never my intention to back away because it's an important part of helping me manage the stress in my life. Since the beginning, writing about our life, specifically from my perspective, has been therapeutic for me. I was able to write what I was feeling and then walk away, without having to carry the weight anymore. It's been largely successful and I'm so grateful that it also helps provide comfort to other families going through similar situations. There's a great deal going on in my life right now and writing is becoming more difficult for me on a number of levels. I'm trying to force myself to get back into the habit of writing a…

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Gavin did something pretty amazing tonight

I wanted to touch base and let you know that things are going pretty good at the moment. Gavin's appointment with immunology went well and he's had a pretty good day. In fact, Gavin's had an awesome day. The kids had therapy tonight and while we were there, we were trying to work through a disagreement with Elliott. It got a bit heated and Elliott expressed himself in a way that wasn't very respectful. We know he was frustrated but we still need to be respectful. It's a little bit harder for him but we just need to keep working on it. Elliott's rough time went on for about half an hour before Gavin, who was on the other side of the room with Emmett, just sorta snapped. He stood…

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#Autism parenting is all about progress not perfection

It's not a huge surprise that Gavin's appointment with his immunologist went well. These appointments rarely go poorly because he's monitored so closely on a weekly basis. Gavin sees his immunologist because he has Common Variable Immunodeficiency or CVID, which put simply, means he lives with a severely compromised immune system. This is a life threatening condition that has no cure. In order to stay healthy, he requires IVIG infusions twice a week and we do those at home. Today's appointment is a follow up. We have to physically check in about every six months and have special labs run. That assumes there aren't any problems between appointment. Anyway, everything went pretty well and Gavin was even able to answer most of the questions on his own. I only spoke…

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We’ve made it to immunology

Gavin and I made it to his appointment. We actually arrived thirty minutes early because there was absolutely zero traffic issues. That almost never happens. Usually, we leave early enough to allow ninety minutes for travel time. Today it only took about an hour because there was simply no stop and go traffic. Who'd of thunk it? Anyway, Lizze is home with the boys and hopefully Gavin and I will be on our way home before too long. I have a couple of stops along the way but we should be back in the early afternoon.

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Today was far from perfect but perfect was never the target

I feel like we had a good day today. It goes without saying that it was far from perfect but perfect is never the target. We had some issues, especially at bedtime with Elliott but I'm still breathing and so is he. 😉 We're getting into that teenage angst and I'm gonna be honest, it's not fun. Autism complicates things in the sense that it sorta muddies the water. It's hard to know what's typical teenage behavior and what's Autism related. I don't know, maybe that doesn't make sense. Either way, we all survived the day and I'm always grateful for that. It could always be worse and I try to remind myself of that every single day. Everyone is sleeping and I'm gonna finish this up and hit the…

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I want to share something positive from yesterday

I forgot to share a really positive moment from yesterday. My brain isn't firing on all cylinders at the moment. So please forgive me. Mr. Emmett really, really, really likes watching Bob's Burgers. I enjoy Bob's Burgers as well but not so much that I can watch it nonstop. I was trying to get Emmett to unplug yesterday and he did, but he spent the entire time stressing out because he couldn't figure out what he wanted to do. Nothing I suggested sounded good to him. He became very, very anxious. Emmett is a big snuggler and I've never been one to shy away from snuggles, so I had an idea.. Maybe he would want to snuggle while watching Bob's Burgers. That would sorta be the best of both worlds.…

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If the person I once was saw the person I am now…..

There are quite a lot of things going on in my life right now. Work has been picking up and I'm feeling good about that. My search for a therapist continues. I'm hoping for a callback tomorrow but insurance is very limiting. I did reach out to one in particular, who's actually very close to my house and on the surface, insurance might not be a problem. I'm hoping to hear back soon. Unfortunately, not everyone keeps up with their websites and there have been more than a few who say they take our insurance but it turns out they no longer do. It's actually a bit frustrating. I do feel very positive about this, despite having a harder time finding someone. It may take a little bit but I…

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I’m taking a long overdue look at myself and it’s not pretty

I've not been around much the last few days, and I wanted to drop a quick line and let you know everything is okay. What's happening right now is that I'm re-evaluating my priorities, and focusing on personal growth. I've been distracted, overwhelmed, and easily frustrated. That can make me a less than stellar husband and father. You may be interested to learn that I'm going to seek out a dedicated therapist for myself. I haven't had one in a while. Lizze has been asking me to do this for a while, and I haven't because I thought I was doing okay. The truth is, I'm not doing nearly as well as I thought I was, and it impacts Lizze and the boys in a negative way. I've been carrying…

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