Not Autism Related

Slowly, He Returns…

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Just a quick pop-up to say that we’re all still alive.

I do owe all of you a bit of an apology.  Things have majorly gone askew here in the last… wow, yeah.  Things were already somewhat odd before the pandemic hit, and I’ve been kind of bouncing from issue to issue, and just not making it a priority to update this blog.

But, I promise you.  I will be back here later this week with an update, and I will get back onto a schedule.  Even if it’s just so you can all hear the latest wackiness with the Monster as he’s going into his teenaged years.

–Dad Enough

The Struggle is Real

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So, important things first – everyone is whole, healthy and hale. Nothing’s been so wrong that I’ve been quiet for ages and ages and ages for an inability to write…

I was once taught the wonderful (and apocryphal) Chinese aphorism: may you live in interesting times.

Things got interesting offline, I got in the habit of not posting updates here because it was the least important of things while I was trying to cope and… well, inertia is a wonderful-horrible thing (as I learned in my physics classes, and unlike the aphorism is entirely real). But getting back to it’s just taken some time and effort, and now that my plate’s finally starting to clear, it’s time for me to start writing here again and sharing my not-quite-wisdom with all of you resuming my role as your cautionary tale of parenting a special-needs child.

As I write this, the wife’s off at a conference for work and I’m home alone with the boys – R is attending karate camp this summer (and why we’re weaponizing our seven year old is beyond my understanding) while the Monster is back in his summer session at school. I’m well-ensconced in a new job where I’m facing different challenges on a daily basis but getting to do the things that I enjoy… and life is moving forward.

Quasi-Single Parent Protocol

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I’ve been very quiet of late, I’m aware.

All of us have periods where we’re single parenting.  There was the several days where my wife went to Vegas with her sister, and I disappear for a few days at a time here and there to go to my competitions… but this is the first time that I’m “in charge” while she’s actually still physically present, which makes things interesting. Continue reading →

Mother’s Day

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So, it should be apparent when you’re reading my blog, that I don’t do all of this by myself.  (If you’ve not noticed mention of my wife, then you’re… not reading often enough.)  And on this day, it’s important to remember that she is there, part of everything that’s going on.

Because, truthfully, I wouldn’t be able to be a fraction of the father that I am, if it weren’t for her being the mother that she is.

Continue reading →

By Any Other Name…

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So this morning, I woke up to an interesting comment on social media regarding my blog, where someone took umbrage to our nickname for our eldest.  (Nevermind, of course, that there’s an explanation in several locations elsewhere in this blog.)  I won’t post it here, but suffice it to say, said person called me a horrible person… and well, my give-a-damn about people thinking I’m a horrible person is broken.  So, my response to the poster was – don’t be so judgemental and grow up.  But I’m going to go further here.

For starters – yes, we do call him the Monster, even offline.  But what does his nickname have to do with the price of tea in China? Continue reading →

This… Is… Football!!

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Full disclosure: This post has nothing to do with Autism, for once. 🙂

I will say here what the #1 lesson is from my dads’ support group, as I’ve said many times before – you have to take “you” time now and again, as the parent of a special-needs child, or you’re going to go insane.

I posted on Friday that the wife and I were going to Pittsburgh for the weekend.  We’re back, safely, from our visit to Steel City, having brought the Ravens good luck in their AFC Wild Card game.  (In fairness… the Ravens have yet to lose when I’m in attendance, so there. :p)  The kids seem to have had a fantastic time with their aunt, uncle and cousin, who were kind enough to come watch them so the wife and I could get away. Continue reading →

Date Night

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Like many parents of special needs children, we definitely don’t take enough time for ourselves.

I’ve talked before about our issues with finding a babysitter – more the issue of our finding someone we’re comfortable perhaps more than actually finding time to go out.  (Though this is the season where the latter is a problem too.)  Setting that aside, we do manage to get out now and again, thanks to the very generous donation of my mother-in-law’s time to watch the kids. Continue reading →

Thanksgiving

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So I’m going to actually be quiet for a few days while we’re celebrating Thanksgiving – not because of anything about the overlapping holidays that goes against my beliefs to blog… but that I’d rather spend it with my family than spend it in front of the computer. 🙂

In the spirit of the season, though… Continue reading →