So a dear friend of mine asked me how I was going to navigate the next four years. She wanted to know specifically how do I consider transitional housing or a place for respite. She was asking generally as a friend who knows how much I love my daughter but she also knows that while I have a lot of support, at the end of the day, I am doing the lion share of the care. I was surprised at my quick response which was I am literally just trying to get by day-by-day. It is a win for me when I’m able to pour into her spirit not become frazzled and make more short-term goals. Quite honestly my goal to date has been functionality and reaching age-appropriate milestones. But now I realize that every day there is a monsoon of additional issues I will have to tackle.
I don’t have an answer for respite today. I’m still struggling with that. I do have recommendations for parents who want a short-term list and want to make sure that their children who are starting the process of aging out have appropriate individual education plans
and have basic skills that we all need to succeed.
If your child is a freshman and if they are capable, introduce them to activities of daily living. Can they wash their clothes? Can they fold and put up their clothes? Can they clean their own spaces in their bathrooms or in their bedrooms? Can they utilize the stove and cook? What will you do about driving? How do you plan to handle being alone at home? How do you plan to handle normal request like going to college and getting a job? I don’t know about you but these are the things that keep me up literally all night long. I think advice is to have a plan and make friends.
Now is the perfect time for you to locate new opportunities in a virtual modality while we’re home anyway with many hours to address.
With regard to the respite, as for now- take a walk. It does the mind good.
