Caregiver Burnout Archives - Page 317 of 319

Here’s how I’m dealing with the broken down car

Things have worked out fairly well in regards to our car situation. Insurance covered the tow and the parts cost about $200. That's still a lot of money for my family but it could be much, much worse. I get paid on Friday and will be able to take care of it then. The only downside to this was that I have to be physically present, with the keys, when the tow truck arrives. That meant I had to walk to Dr. Pattie's office. As I'm getting ready to leave, the kids decide that they desperately want to go with me. We tried to discourage them, because I don't like them being outside where we live. Lizze and I decided that we would all walk to meet the tow truck. It's…

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March 29, 2017

My thoughts

Sleeping in

It's a new day and as we approach the hour of 9 Am, only three of us are awake. Gavin and Lizze are still sleeping, while the boys and I are watching cartoons. We have nothing on the agenda, especially considering our car is out of commission for the immediate future. I should find out how much the repairs are going to cost me today and then it's just a matter of getting paid on Friday. Hopefully, we can make it the next few days without need of transportation.

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March 29, 2017

My thoughts

When Sh!t Happens Focus On The Blessings

If you were to look outside our front window, you might notice something missing. That something would be our car. As we were preparing to leave Dr. Pattie's office after therapy tonight, the key wouldn't turn in the ignition. This has been an on again off again issue for a little while. The remedy has been a tiny hammer underneath the passenger seat. I know that sounds weird but if we take the tiny hammer and tap on the key while it's in ignition, it will turn once again. Think of it as a love tap. After about twenty minutes of unsuccessful attempts to get the damn car to start, I called my Dad to help shuttle us home. He advised I call my brother Jon, who's a mechanic at…

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March 29, 2017

My thoughts / The Art of Redirection

The importance of redirection for #Autism #Parenting

The boys driving me crazy aside, we've had a pretty good afternoon. We spent the first part of the day just sorta relaxing at home. I was even able to take a desperately nap, courtesy of my amazing wife. As the afternoon moved on, the boys were really testing me, especially Gavin. I decided that the best thing to do is redirect or change our current course, at least for a little while. I told the boys to get dressed because we were going to the park. It's roughly 50°F and mostly cloudy today, so it's not particularly pleasant outside. At the same time, the direction we were heading in would be unpleasant as well. The art of redirection is an essential tool that all Autism parents should probably have…

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March 28, 2017

My thoughts

A rough start to the day

I had one hell of a time sleeping last night. It was one of those nights where I was too stressed out to be able to fall asleep. I didn't fall asleep until almost 5 AM. I desperately need a nap but I'm going to try and push through it. Thankfully, the boys are being relatively cooperative this morning. It can't be overstated how much easier life is when the boys are cooperative. ☺

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March 28, 2017

Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

How many #Autism Parents are guilty of this?

One of the things I've really tried to instill in the families that follow our story, is that no matter what you may expect from yourself, at the end of the day you're only human. It's important to remember this because as Autism parents, we are often pushed to the brink of insanity and our limits are continuously being tested. As part of this whole being human thing, we can often feel emotions that may cause us to feel guilt but here's the thing. We're human and we're going to experience a plethora of emotion when it comes to our kids on the Autism Spectrum. I don't think a day has gone by where I haven't experienced things like frustration, exhaustion, anger, resentment, heartache, pain and being completely overwhelmed. I…

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March 28, 2017

Gallery / Outdoor Adventures

25 awesome pictures from today’s adventures

The boys and I went to the park today. They love hunting Pokémon but also hunting painted rocks. Theres a local movement where people are painting rocks and literally hiding them everywhere. Sometimes these rocks have a positive message and other times they're just beautiful works of art. The idea behind this is for people to find them, take a pictures, uploaded to the Facebook page written in the back and then re-hide for others to find. We've amassed about twenty of these rocks and today we decided to re-hide them all. It sucks that Lizze was in too much pain to join us but we held some back so she could hide them when she's feeling better. The boys still had fun and while no one saw us hiding…

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March 27, 2017

My thoughts

My motto for today is Carpe Temporis Punctum

Lizze has been having a rough couple of days. Those of you familiar with Fibromyalgia will understand how changes in the barometric pressure can cause a significant increase in pain, or what's known as a Fibro Flare. Anyway, our weather has been pretty wonky lately and Lizze is paying a price. It's a pretty nice day and I'm thinking of taking the boys out Pokémon hunting at the park. I know of that involves their tablets but it gets them outside and motivated to move around. More importantly though, they have fun and that's my goal. At this point, I'm unsure if Lizze is going to joining us. I know she wants to but doing may prove too much in her current condition. I'm probably looking to go sooner rather…

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March 27, 2017