Happily Andrews After

B has lived with us for a little over a year. Ya'll. It's been a roller coaster. There is nothing about life that looks the way it did before. There is nothing about life that feels the way it did before. We are suddenly parents to a teen. Teenagers are hard. Autism is hard. Kabuki syndrome is hard. Mood disorders are hard. But we are making it. We have finally settled down as far as appointments go. And thankfully, my family is able to help get her to some appointments, like speech, when our jobs keep us from being able to go. We still struggle with some of her behaviors and knowing the best way to handle them. We have seen an improvement but we still have a long way to go as a family. We, as parents, have a lot to learn. And in turn, we have a lot to teach B. We are still learning about services that may be available for her. And then we have to decide what services may benefit her the most, that will fit in the time that we have. She can only handle so much a...

B has been here with us about 6 months now. Ya'll. Just in case you didn't know. Parenting is hard. I know this is not a revelation to most of you. But we didn't ease into it. There wasn't nine months of expectation and dreams of what it would be like to hold a newborn in our arms. We did not have to do the diaper changes, or nights without sleep. It's hard in a different way. When you are parenting a child with special needs, there is a list of things you never thought you would have to think about.  Some nights I lay and stare at the ceiling and think of all the things that were challenges that day, and all the successes. I think of the list of things that needs to be done tomorrow, and try to make mental lists of things to not forget. I am barely keeping all the appointments straight, and I am watching my leave balance at work decline steadily. It makes my desire to be able to stay at home even stronger. Just to be able to manage all the things that need to...