Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Routine

Everyday you wake up with the same to do list. Sometimes you have a few items added but when you are mom you usually have your routine.

6:30am Wake up
6:35am Shower
6:45am Get dressed etc.
7:00am Get Mia dressed, try to wake up Chloe
7:10am Make breakfast (right now they want scrabbled eggs) While Mia eats get her hair brushed, socks and shoes on. Tell Chloe to wake up again if she isn't downstairs.
7:27am Bus for Mia (make sure she has her everything)
7:30 am Walk Pip
7:40am attempt to leave to take Chloe to school
8:15am Work
4:15pm Leave work to pick up Mia
4:40pm Get Mia
5:30pm Pick up Chloe
5:45pm Go home to check homework, make dinner, walk Pip, eat dinner, make lunches/snacks
7:25pm Get baths started
8:00pm Get them to bed walk Pip
8:45pm Breathe and get ready to repeat in the morning

Of course every parent can tell you there is always a wrench that someone throws into your "perfect" routine. Like doctor appointments or snow days. When you have kids with autism and you have to change their routine it might cause a little havoc. You see Mia gets breakfast at school but with all the snow days and 2 hour delays she was eating at home...that became her routine. So now she must eat or she isn't getting on the bus but she also must eat at school (a muffin, yogurt and peaches) because that is also her routine. Now I go through 2 dozen eggs a week...and I am allergic to eggs. It got me thinking about everything while rushing around this morning zipping up her coat....her wishing me a Merry Christmas because it snowed last night.

The routine gets boring...even though your life isn't boring. Not sure if many people can understand that logic. I love that every Thursday I go grocery shopping before work (it is pay day). It breaks up that routine. It is my one day that I get to be around strangers. I work with my family but at the store I can just zone out. I love having those 2 hours to myself.

I just felt the need to look back at this blog....so much has changed while so much hasn't. It is still just the 3 of us and autism is a daily "hurdle" in our lives. It is forever changing but always there. I think the question parents always ask is will it ever get easier. I have grown to understand that no it won't. It might be different but it will always be hard. It is a very odd statement to say it was easier when my twins were infants. It was easier for me to get around then....I wish I took advantage of that time to do more.....but I didn't know. I didn't know that I wouldn't be able to go certain places with my kids because it will end with my daughter on the ground having a meltdown. So instead I have to put her in her wheelchair. Not all places are easy to push a child around in a wheelchair. We do a lot though, in April we start soccer again, but it is never easy. I wish I had more help or more money or both...either would make it much easier. But this is our life this is our routine and as strange as it sounds....I still like it.