Update August 16, 2025

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Saturday

Saturday at Cub Scout camp was fun. IL6 did crafts, swam, and shot b b guns. IL6 had a hard time concentrating after a couple of hours, so we relaxed at the tent during the “open program.”

Sunday

Sunday IL6 was ready to go home, and we had to keep convincing him to hang on till the closing ceremony. There was archery, a nature rotation, and a fitness rotation. He made it, and at the end of the day, he told me that he had a really good day. 8⁠-⁠)

We were very tired and soggy when we came home, so it was nice to get dry and clean, if not immediately rested. He was thrilled to see M13. They even played Kirby for a while. (After I spent a couple hours playing Minecraft then LEGO with IL6.) IL6 ate a whole bunch of frozen pizza for dinner, so he had made himself hungry.

Monday

Monday morning was a rush to catch up on stuff I should have done over the weekend. Then, Aaron and I had a telehealth consultation to see what sort of seminars IL6’s clinic had to help us deal with his behaviors and autism. They suggested 2 seminars and 3 consultations (all one time things). Afterwards, Aaron and I met with IL6’s therapist to discuss routines and behaviors. I took dad to his graduation from cardiac rehab, then played Minecraft with IL6.

Tuesday

Tuesday was fairly calm. I took D15 to an appointment. Made some jambalaya for Aaron’s lunches. Had an at-home nurse practitioner appointment for dad. Then my friend Liz came over, and we watched Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with Aaron. IL6 was scared by it, so he sat outside with dad.

Wednesday

Wednesday I walked to the library and then the gym with dad. I read. I took IL6 to an appointment. Dad took us all out to eat. Aaron and IL6 were up all night with ear pain.

Thursday

Thursday morning, Aaron took IL6 to urgent care. He had double ear infections, both in his inner and outer ears. He was given ear drops and antibiotics. We had to bribe him with an ice cream cone to put the ear drops in, and with another ice cream cone in the evening to drink the antibiotic (because apparently it tastes different in coke – evening vehicle – than it does in Doctor Pepper – morning vehicle.)

I spent most of the day resting and taking care of IL6, which is good because I’ve been very burned out. In the late afternoon, Aaron and I had a telehealth appointment about using visual cues to help him with transitions and think about pooping.

Afterwards, I had D&D, and I finished another chunk of my cross-stitch.

Friday

Friday I played appointment Tetris about 4 times (scheduling appointments on days where there are other appointments to leave some days as free as possible). I took dad for a haircut and dropped him off at his personal trainer. But while walking home he had chest pain, so I picked him up. I read to D15 in the evening, then read several books to IL6 at night.

Week’s Photos

Reading to myself

Sociopath: A Memoir, by Patric Gagne
Mr Ballen podcast
To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, by Moniquil Blackgoose
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne

Reading to IL5

Search for the Lightning Dragon, by Tracey West
Diary of a Minecraft Zombie, by Zack Zombie
Super Rabbit Boy vs the Gigabot, by Thomas Flintham

Aaron reading

Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood

Media Completed

In this memoir written by a diagnosed sociopath, Gagne makes the point that people view sociopaths as “bad,” but sociopathy is a mental illness and people with sociopathy need compassion and treatment. She admits there is probably a spectrum, and that she was on the more mild side.

The point of the book was well-made, and the narrative was engaging. However, there are some bits that felt like lies to me. These lies were generally helpful to make a point. Gagne admitted to be a liar, so it’s not surprising.

Zack Zombie describes his life a a middle school-aged Minecraft zombie. This was about 2nd grade reading level. It didn’t really have much of a story, and there weren’t a lot of pictures for IL6 to look at. But he seemed to like it well enough. Though he was disappointed I didn’t get him a “real” zombie book (which he had requested).