The past week has been a lot to digest about my father’s livelihood. There are times when I want to be angry and want to throw all the hard work away. However, there is more of a necessity to stay strong for my family because they need me now more than ever.

If you could have had some of the most devastating news about a family member hit you like a bunch of rocks, this past week was the one of the worst. Then, it hits hard every day like you never get a break from the tough stuff. However, for me, there is a reality that I must be strong through it all even though I may not want to out of a sense of selfishness, a common autistic trait.

 Over the past few decades, there has been a lot of hatred towards my father but eventually I realized that the way that he acted towards me was not my fault and I have reconciled my differences, however it was too late for me to come full circle in that effort. I know that now is not the right time to be in a dismissive effort where I want to push him to the side, and I need to be there for him and my mother as the current times have been challenging.

I need to be strong by working to be my best self continuously giving my 100% at each moment so I do not cause havoc among my family. I must be my best self so that there is no worry among my family that I could react negatively towards them or someone else. Additionally, having reactive behavior that I believe will get me additional attention, when in fact it only makes things worse is not the best idea and therefore it is important for me to work at coping with my own challenges and not making things worse.

Being strong is being there for my family when they need me to be there, even if I may not want to. There is nothing that hurts a family more than having one of their own be reacting negatively in a situation when another family member is compromised. It hurts the one that is compromised more because they are dependent on having the one that is there for them being their best self when they are needed the most.

There have been times when I did not make the best decisions when it comes to things and I have heard about it, then the guilt has followed. It is best to just follow through with what is being asked of you by being strong and doing the best that you can, even if it may not be your most favorite thing to do, the pain will end eventually, and you will resume your normally scheduled activities soon.

In the end, while there will be things that you will not want to do is challenging, there are going to be moments when you are going to have to be strong for those that love you. Even if you may not think you are making a difference by being there and being strong, you are! Eventually it will get better and as challenging as you may think it is right now, it gets better.