Part 1: Week One of The World Shutting Down

Please understand that I am in no way complaining about or making light of the situation, but his blog is about autism; my son’s autism and the way his mind works and deals with things and that is just what I am going to write about.

Quarantine Diaries Part 2: DC’s ‘Twenty-Nineteen’ (29th) Birthday

DC spent his 29th birthday in lock down. At the time of his birthday, this lock down was still relatively new and confusing to him.  I felt bad for him because he so looks forward to his birthdays, seeing friends, receiving gifts and going ‘out to eat’.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 3 – Easter in Lock Down

Once DC’s birthday was over, he quickly moved on to reminding me about Easter. In true DC fashion; birthday over – he quickly moved on to Easter,  #ItsWhatsNext – Quite honestly, I hadn’t given Easter a single thought. I had forgotten all about it.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 4 – And It Goes, On and On

My last post on this blog was written after week one, when I still had to go to work two days a week. (Week One of the World Shutting Down – which I am counting as Quarantine Diaries – Part 1)

Quarantine Diaries Part 5 – Masks, Garlic and Jelly Beans

As you might imagine, DC is NOT a fan of the mask.
I have tried a few different variations, but he hated all of them.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 6 – “Yay, Yay, It’s Mother’s Day!”

Shhh! We’ve officially passed the time of night on any given holiday when DC decides this one is over and begins to “remind” me of whatever is coming up next (in this case, Mother’s Day, I would imagine). He hadn’t said a word. Weird. Just weird.

Part 7: Flowers for “Vicki”(e)

DC woke up this morning with a “Happy Mother’s Day” for me. He then moved right in to asking what we are going to eat later. I made the mistake of telling him that we would try to get Chili’s takeout (HIS favorite place) for dinner so that is all he is interested in.

Quarantine Diaries Part 8: Bald and Toothless

I confess that there is a little (a lot) of venting in this post. Everyone needs to vent once in a while, so I will be doing just that. One cannot vent without using run-on sentences…. just so you know.

Quarantine Diaries – Part 9: Story-time With DC

In an effort of trying to keep this guy busy, we have been recording stories (and some songs) to post on our Facebook Page (Take Another Step). DC is having fun with it.

Quarantine Diaries – Part 10: Pizza, Planting and Friends

Since my venting post last week, things have been better. Maybe because I got all of my complaining out of my system – I don’t know – but it’s been better.

Quarantine Diaries – Part 11: Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Last week I saw a post about a Sabrina The Teenage Witch Virtual cast reunion. I went back and forth with myself for a day or two between –

Quarantine Diaries – Part 12: Strictly from Facebook Posts

 

Quarantine Diaries – Part 13: The Couch, YouTube and Deep Space 9

As you may or may not know; we watch a lot of Star Trek around here but lately in-between the Star Trek re-watches, I have been watching a lot of those reunion panels, like Stars in the House, Reunited Apart and The 7th Rule’s Virtual Trek Con (links at the end of this post) on You Tube.

Quarantine Diaries – Part 14: Pandemic Buying

 

Quarantine Diaries Part 16: DC Being DC

Just a lot of DC, being DC.

 

Quarantine Diaries – Part 17: Stormy Weather

I usually use my other blog (Take Another Step – Life With DC) for posts that use my Facebook/Twitter page posts, but I decided to use them here since most of it has already been written and truth be told, it is easier.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 18 – The Anxiety

After DC got over the initial anxiety of “the sickness” and staying home, I mentioned that I was seeing so much growth in him during the time we have been home.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 19 – On-line Camp

After our free-for-all zoom experiences with DC’s day program, I did not know what to expect when it came time for virtual camp. Obviously I knew that the Camp directors would put  much more thought into camp than his program put into their zoom meetings, but still – I didn’t know just how this would work.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 20 – More DC Being DC (and me being me)

As much as we have had all of that new anxiety spring up over the pandemic and being home for so long, he has also seemed to settle in to this routine (or non-routine) faster than I ever imagined. Staying at home has become the norm rather quickly.  I know this probably does not make any sense at all. He’s anxious but has settled in – at the same time. I do not know know else to explain it.

 Quarantine Diaries: Part 21 – A Pandemic and Halloween

As you may or may not know, DC LOVES Halloween. He looks forward to Halloween just as much as he looks forward to Christmas. The thought of Halloween did not kick in as early as it usually does with him, but once it did, it was all I heard about.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 22 – Thanksgiving, Christmas and Everything In-Between

DC has already started making his Christmas list for Santa. It is on the “refrig-a-lator”. This year: Bandaids, Frozen Princess Dolls (as if he didn’t have each one 3 times over) Jelly Beans and 32 markers.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 23 – Snow Day

 “Canceled” used to be a word that DC loved.  School is canceled. -Work is canceled. – Baseball (or any sport related activity) is canceled.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 24 – Christmas and the “Art” of Decorating

(Long time! No see! I’m really behind on posting) It may sound a bit Scrooge-ish (not a word), but whenever I see a highly decorated house or watch one of those Christmas decorating shows on TV, my first thought is – “So who is going to take all of that down?”… always.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 25 – The Road to Normalcy?

DC went back to his “job”(day program) in October. It was a hard decision for me to make.

Back in May, his supervisor/staff called me and asked if I would consider sending him back to work on July 15th. I told her “I can not make that decision now. We don’t know what is going to happen over the next month or two.”

Quarantine Diaries Part 26 – Birthday Anticipation

March is always a big month for DC. It is my birthday month, which means “out” to dinner for him, or in this case “take out at home” dinner for him. AND it is also HIS birthday month, which is much more important.

Quarantine Diaries: Part 27 – Anastasia and Pandemic Birthday Number 2

We are now heading toward celebrating DC’s 2nd pandemic birthday. I feel awful because he is still waiting for his make-up birthday with his friends from last year because who knew back then we would still be in the midst of a pandemic. At the time I thought we would be able to celebrate “properly” sometime over the summer. Boy, was I wrong!

Quarantine Diaries: Part 28 – The Gateway to the Big Birthday

 As we all know, my birthday is just the gateway (or the practice round) to DC’s birthday… and let me tell you, he was excited!

Pandemic Diaries: Part 28.5 – Speech and Wrapping His Mind Around a Single Word

DC was assigned a line of dialogue to recite for his Winter Guard team Zoom show. I say a line but actually it was only two words.

Pandemic Diaries: Part 29 – Anastasia (and Some Sleeping Beauty) – Happy Birthday, DC!

I will be the first to admit that I can get carried away with DC’s birthday. Much like Christmas, it was a long time before he actually “got it” and when he did, he was all in and so was I.

Pandemic Diaries – Part 30: Fully Vaccinated

I may have mentioned this already, but back in March our state’s vaccination schedule removed any exception for disabilities and went to an age only schedule.