From Meltdown to Nurse Mode: A Morning in My World
Some mornings feel impossible. Today was one of them. It started with a meltdown — not mine (yet), but my child’s. Autism doesn’t run on our schedule, and this morning vacation care felt like a mountain too high for my little one to climb. We spent two full hours navigating big feelings, gentle encouragements, strategies we’ve practiced, tears (his and nearly mine), and so much emotional labour that I swear it could count as a full shift on its own. All I needed — all I wanted — was to get him into the car. Just to take those few steps from the front door to the back seat, so we could begin the day. So I could drop them off safely. So I could go to work . But nothing about it was simple. And when we finally did it — when we finally made it into the car — I was already late. I knew it. I felt it in my chest, heavy like the exhaustion of a full day before the clock even hit 9am. The drive to work is only ten minutes, but today it was my ten minutes. Ten minut...