Well Everyone, we made it thru to December. Give yourself a big hand! You made it through perhaps the most difficult year in history. My Mom used to say “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and my Irish Grandma said “God fits the burdens to your back”
At this point we are all super strong with a back capable of carrying mountains, right? But someone also said “put down your burdens and climb the mountain, you don’t have to carry it with you”
I’m writing this during one of a series of power outages imposed by the utility company because of high winds. After nine months in my house my patience is as thin as it gets. This fourth outage in three weeks has lasted 28 hours and we apparently have another day to go. But we are resilient and keep finding ways to workaround the bumps and burdens.
Such is the daily joys and challenges of parenting and loving someone with autism. You manage every day, every hour to make it work and as exhausting as some days can be you keep getting stronger. Nobody could have imagined what 2020 had in store for us. But here we are and a new year of joys and challenges is awaiting. We are stronger than we realize and our collective strength will carry us through. Be well, be safe and let’s make the best of what’s ahead in 2021!
Colleen Duncan
Board Member Autism Society Ventura County