Life always throws changes in our way. Some changes are easy others not so easy. It can be hard to be flexible and adaptable when we as autistic people like to have things the way that we like them. At times when there are so many changes to our routine at one time, it can be too much, but then there are times when change is just necessary and you cannot react, fight or be resistant to it because you realize that you need to mature and be the strong one.

A couple of weeks ago it seemed to be one of those days for my mother and me. While the day for the most part was good, there was the day that we were on our way to weight loss support group and my mother had to go to her house to get something. While we were there we realized that the electric had gone out. As we left and went on our way we discovered that a power line had landed across the road. Anyone who knows about electricity knows that you cannot go across the road when there is a power line across the road. So, the first thing that I had to do was call 911 and report the down power line so the crews could get to work on it.

At least if we walked around it we could get to the other side of it and meet a friend from our meeting who came and picked up my mother and I so we could go to our meeting. While it was hard to adapt, it was just something that had to be done without question because the reality was that you just can’t go across a live power wire, so you have to adapt. While there already seemed to be many other things that were going wrong that day, it was up to me to be strong and not act immature in a time when my family and friends needed me. It was also important for me to be my best self at the weight loss support group as my mother and our friend was needed to carry out some tasks before the start of the actual meeting itself and we did that with much ease.

Being in this situation also made me realize that there was much more gratitude that needed to be had for our friend that stepped out of their routine and did what as necessary to see that we had the opportunity to be at our support group and take part of the necessary parts of fellowship and while the routine for the rest of the day did change slightly, it was being flexible and being resilient because I know that I can when I need to and I am ever so grateful for the ability to do so.

Sometimes life throws us a bunch of curveballs at one time that can make us be the strong one when we need to. It can be hard to be strong sometimes and it can take some energy to be that person, but in the end, there will be so many people that are proud of us for doing what was necessary to get through the day and not cause a meltdown that could make an already difficult situation worse.