How Lockdown Can Warp Your Sense Of Time

Few people with any social conscience would question the reasoning behind lockdown, when a pandemic that has killed upwards of half a million people worldwide shows no signs of going away. And those of us who understand the importance of not just avoiding infection for ourselves, but also of not passing it on to the most vulnerable, would never resent quarantine. Pixabay - CCO Licence However, one of the things that has been particularly difficult about these last few months, for a huge number of people, is that there has seemed to be no definitive end. 2020 started nearly seven months ago, but it’s been tough to track the passage of time. In some ways, the year could be just a couple of months ago while in others, it feels…

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#Depression is like an uninvited houseguest

It's been a emotionally challenging day for me. There are a million reasons for this and to be completely honest, it got the better of me for a little while. I'm overloaded and that tends to feed my uninvited houseguest called depression. I was able to keep my struggle from the kids, which I'm quite proud of. I don't want them dealing with anymore grown-up issues than they have to. Having said all that, I've had some time to think and further process all the challenges I'm struggling with. Once I was able to think logically again, I realized that I truly believe everything is going to be okay. I'm not suggesting life is going to be easy but I know that all of these obstacles will be overcome and…

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5 Ways To Manage Chronic Pain

Pain is an indicator given to you from your central nervous system to let you know that there is something wrong. Pain lets you know that you need to move away from a fire or you might get burnt. Without pain, you would put yourself in harmful situations all of the time.  Most pain goes away in time. Your body heals and you gradually feel better. But what if that pain doesn’t go away? If you are feeling pain much of the time and it doesn’t ever naturally go, then you have chronic pain.  Image Credit Pixabay.com License CC0  There can be all kinds of chronic pain, and it is essential that you seek medical treatment for the cause of the pain. However, in the meantime, you will still need…

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It’s been a rough transition home for the kids

The boys came home this afternoon. I picked them up about 2pm. I surprised them by bringing Ruby along, which I would immediately regret. We'll just say she's a nervous traveler and leave it at that. She was happy to see the boys and they were thrilled to see her. She was excited to see Lizze as well. I was hoping that Ruby being there would help to smooth out the transition and it worked, until we got home. It's been a challenging day as the kids begin adjusting to being home. They're glad to be back but they miss their mom. We haven't discussed a future visit yet but at this point, it might not be for awhile. The pandemic is getting worse and we agreed that if/when that…

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Parenting breaks are bittersweet for me

I fully intended to publish this last night and I didn't. The boys are already at their moms and I'm publishing this now because better late than never. ☺ The boys are so excited because they are seeing their mom in the morning. I'm dropping them off and picking them back up on Sunday. They've been packed for 2 days and all I need to do is pack their meds in the morning. I'm excited for them but at the same time, this makes me very nervous. I've kept them safe because I've carefully controlled our world since the onset of COVID19. Turning that care over to anyone else introduces unknowns and that makes me uncomfortable. It's nothing to do with their mom. I would feel this way with my…

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Life is rough and I’m struggling with #depression

I know that I talk about the bad days quite a bit and that can be depressing to read. There are so many factors that go into writing about my experience and generally, I err on the side of transparency. My intention is not to be depressing but rather to be open about my Depression. Depression plays a role in literally every single part of my life and it's not easy to manage. Being a special needs parent is very challenging. Being a single special needs parent is even more so. When it comes to the challenge, things like autism and fragile health definitely complicate things. The truth is, my own mental health directly impacts how I'm able to cope with stress and rise to the occasion. I feel very…

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Why we all need a bit of downtime

If you’re a busy parent, life can feel like one endless series of problems to solve. Some people can just plow straight through, dealing with all the issues as they arise. Others, however, get burned out. And that’s when the real trouble starts. Getting downtime is vital for several reasons. But, as with so many things, it comes back to biology. When you rest, you activate something called the parasympathetic nervous system. If you’ve ever felt rested and happy, you’ll know what this is like. You feel relaxed like you could do anything, and you’re not worrying about going to work or driving the kids somewhere. You definitely don’t feel overwhelmed. Pexels - CC0 License Activating this system is vital because the body relies on it to do basic housekeeping.…

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#Anxiety + #Autism = No Bueno

The kids are incredibly anxious today. If you're familiar with autism in young children, you know how difficult anxiety can be for them to cope with. The kids are still on edge from this weekends firework assault on our neighborhood. They're also anxious because they're so excited about seeing their mom on Friday. Factor in all the lockdown insanity on top of that and you have a difficult situation to manage. I'm living downtown there right now. It's almost 100°F so time outside isn't advisable right now. We have been working together to straighten the house but frankly, everyone is climbing the walls. There's not a lot I can do at the moment but I figure making good use of the time is important and makes sense. We have some…

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