Chaos

These are chaotic times for the entire world. Our family is no different than yours when it comes to trying to figure out how to cope.

In my head there are always a million things going on while being isolated and staying safe. What should we do today? When should we do it? How do I keep my children engaged? Do I do fun things? School work? Both? How much school work should we do? Should I just focus on mental health? Am I the only one not getting much accomplished? Should I let my children sleep late?

My list seems never-ending. I don’t think everyone can act the same way or accomplish the same things, but sometimes when I look at facebook or instagram posts I feel like I’m not doing nearly enough.

But when you are dealing with your new normal and autism at the same time, it’s not always cut and dry.

In some ways, I am actually surprised at how our physically distancing doesn’t seem that hard. For children with autism being alone is totally normal. So to stay away from people is not all that bad. And for introverts like myself it’s not that bad either because my go to is being alone.

But when I think about our mental health and how much we all need social interaction which is so much more important for children on the spectrum, our current situation saddens me. But there is nothing that I can do but accept it and do the best.

That’s all any of us can really do is our best. Be there for our family, comfort our family, talk to our family and not focus on the stuff that in the scope of things really doesn’t matter so much.

We all have a choice of how we handle things and for me, at this time, I choose to be grateful for the time that I have with my family, and the ability to relax the schedule and just be in the moments without the pressure of places to go and things to do.

In another month, things may look differently, but for now our family is coping quite well and doing the best that we can.

My warmest thoughts are with you at this time.  Take care and stay safe!