Lost Time

So much has happened since my last post, I don’t even know where to begin!

For starters, I lost my job on March 2. I am not going to go into details about the breakup between me and my former employer, but at the time I was a wreck. After the initial shock and sadness, it turns out, I am quite relieved. I never realized how liberating it would be not being tied down to a “9-5 Job” and the best part of all, is that I’m spending time with my babies.

With the scary Coronavirus going around and schools all being cancelled, I’m certainly making up for lost time with the kids. After all, I went back to work after 8 weeks home with Roslynn at first, and only 6 weeks after Greyson was born. The first two weeks of my unemployment, Greyson and Roslynn were still in school, so I was running around, playing mom taxi and spent about 10 hours cleaning up the choir room at the church. I also had some time to organize different things in the house and work on tasks I had not been able to do for a long time.

Sadly, the virus has cancelled everything, so I have been stuck in home quarantine since mid-March. I’ve been a big “homebody” for awhile now, so staying home hasn’t bothered me much. I’ve used my time well, applying for jobs, cleaning/organizing, preparing items for consignment and best of all, learning more about Greyson and the extent of his needs.

Luckily I have been home for Greyson’s most recent break-through seizures. He has gone through a growth spurt over the past couple of weeks, but his med was never adjusted to keep up with the weight change, hence the seizures. Once increased, those seizures stopped….thank you Jesus! He also began Guanfacine a few weeks ago, which wasn’t showing much success with the small dosage prescribed, so that too was increased. He was displaying a lot of aggression and self-injury the first couple weeks, but Derek and I assumed it was from the change of schedule and his daily routine.

Late to the game, but I am now realizing things that absolutely need to happen to keep Greyson content, such as:

1. All lights on downstairs and in the hallway.
2. Absolutely NO baths unless daddy is home.
3. Pull ups are the only thing in stock at grocery stores, but he will ONLY wear the pull ups with buzz/woody on them.
4. Short sleeve tees and sweats are his preferred clothing, but his overalls are taken out for days he decides he wants to be a stripper.
5. He will only nap if the tv is on, volume on low and he is tucked tightly under my arm.
6. He is an avid snacker and refuses to eat breakfast or lunch.
7. The only movies/shows that are allowed on the tv are Pixar and Disney. Nothing else.
8. His juice, which can ONLY be honey crisp apple juice, should preferably be at room temperature with 3/4 juice and 1/4 nursery water with fluoride.
9. He likes to wear Roslynn’s nightgowns when he is upset. (I still have not figured this one out)

Proof, in case you don’t believe me

I’m not quite sure how I kept him alive for almost 3 full years before realizing these quirks he has, but better late than never, I guess. I am brainstorming my next home DIY project on a budget, but am content with my biggest task at hand right now: finding a grocery store with available pickup/delivery times.

The past 5 weeks have really taught me a lot, through all of the changes happening in my personal life, but also the changes to the world around me. The biggest lessons I will take away from this time, other than the fact that the US was clearly not prepared for a pandemic, is that I am worth so much more than I have settled for. I have an impressive skill set that I can offer a company and I can survive being a stay at home parent, a task I never thought I could try to take on.

While the future remains unknown for myself and many others around the world, I know my story still has a lot to be written.

Guarding his human