COVID19 Archives - Page 25 of 30

I haven’t figured out how to approach all of this

I'm going to be splitting my focus this week between work and getting the kids ready to begin school next week. I have an interview first thing this morning and then a business meeting in the afternoon. After that, I'm working with the boys to help them get organized and prepped for school to begin next Monday. There are a few phone calls I need to make to the school to figure out some of the logistics that I have questions about. I need to look at a new desk for the boys as well. We have one but I'd like for each of the boys to have their own setup. I haven't figured out how to approach all of this just yet. There are a few things that I'll…

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August 11, 2020

Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

My little victory over #depression and a gentle reminder to all of you

First of all, I really appreciate all the love and support. We're all in this together and I sometimes forget that. Thank you for the many reminders. ☺ I wanted to share a bit more about something I alluded to in the previous post (see here). Yesterday, Elliott did his daily can we go walking Dad. I wish I could take them whenever they wanted me to but the truth is, I honestly don't feel it's always safe. There are also times when I simply lack the motivation and energy. That's usually due complications related to my ongoing war with depression. Without fail, Elliott asked me to take them all to Quail Hollow, a park within driving distance from our house. It's one of our favorite places to visit during…

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August 9, 2020

Confessions / Depression Management / My thoughts

I’m losing interest in all the things I once enjoyed

It's been a pretty rough couple of days. Scratch that. It's been a pretty rough year. I'm feeling a great deal of pressure right now and it doesn't look to be getting better, anytime soon. I'm fact, it's likely to only get worse. School is getting closer and closer and I'm getting more and more nervous about this whole distance learning thing. I don't really worry so much about the kids because I believe they can totally handle this. I'm nervous that I won't be able to handle this. I've been working a lot the last few days but unfortunately, it's not translating into much financially, at the moment. That fact alone has me unable to sleep at night. I know that literally millions and millions of people are dealing…

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August 9, 2020

COVID19 / Distance Learning / My thoughts / Planning / School

Distance learning for the first time is pretty f*cking scary

School is getting closer and closer and I'm getting nervous. We will be distance learning for the first time because there isn't a snowballs chance in hell that I would put my kids in a classroom right now. I know it's the right thing to do but I'm questioning whether I'm the right person for the job. Unfortunately, I'm the only person for the job, so I don't really have a choice. Everyone is stressed out and lockdown is continuing to take its toll. The house setup is not really conducive to distance learning and I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Using the dining room table is probably the easiest solution but the boys may end up distracting each other if I don't separate them. Ideally, they'd…

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August 5, 2020

COVID19 / Lockdown / My thoughts

150 days of #COVID19 lockdown and the #depression is real

The boys and I have been on lockdown for 150 days today. It's crazy to think it's been this long and it's even crazier to think we could be looking at almost another year before we get access to a vaccine. While we're all safe and healthy, that doesn't mean we're doing great. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for everyone's health, including my own but the isolation is taking a toll. Everyone is impacted differently. Elliott and Emmett are very short tempered anymore and struggle emotionally. Gavin is struggling emotionally, which leads to decompensation in other areas of his life. As for myself, there's no two ways about it, I'm depressed. Depression is definitely kicking my ass right now but I'm still fighting. Some days I fight harder than…

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August 3, 2020

COVID19 / Distance Learning / My thoughts / Planning

We basically have 2 weeks before school begins

School supplies have started to arrive for Emmett. Elliott already received a textbook and laptop a few weeks back. Emmett received books, art supplies, a science kit and his laptop. The math workbook is enormous. We have about 2 weeks left before school is supposed to begin and frankly, I'm nervous. Things are already so challenging and that's without having to try and manage distance learning. At this point, I'm not even sure what's going to happen in Ohio. It's not yet been decided as far as I know. I suspect the school year will at the very least, be delayed. We'll have to see what happens and how it impacts us. For right now however, I'm just hoping that I can pull this off. I told Gavin that we…

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August 1, 2020

Inspirational Posts / My thoughts

To Whom This May Concern: I Am In My Lane

I shared my recent interview with ABC News on the topic of wearing masks, and there have been some requests from within the autism community that I stay in my lane. It's been suggested that I just focus on autism related things because that's why people follow me. I thought a To Whom This May Concern type response made sense. I want to take a few minutes and explain why I'm doing what I'm doing and the purpose behind it. To Whom This May Concern We are living in a time where taking a stand matters. I'm a single Dad with 3 amazing autistic kids. My son is immunocompromised, and you better believe that I will use my platform to advocate for anything that will help keep him and others…

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July 30, 2020

COVID19 / My thoughts / Planning / School

My current back to school plan is far from perfect but at least it’s safe

I'm trying to keep things moving forward and I feel like I'm doing a halfway decent job. That's not easy for me to say that either. I tend to focus on my many failings and gloss over my parenting wins. I do feel pretty accomplished to have a basic strategy for the upcoming school year. We haven't left the house in a few days. It's been insanely hot and COVID is worsening in Ohio. There's also a renewal of the general safety concerns where we live. There have been shootings recently and while that's not unheard of its been getting pretty bad. I've mentioned before that gunshots are an almost daily occurance where I live. I don't always know what happened but we hear them all the time. The gunshots…

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July 29, 2020