If you don’t hear Ross yelling ‘PIVOT!’ and Chandler shouting ‘SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, then it’s time for a quick pop culture lesson (and also, maybe move on?).”

Just kidding, but kinda serious.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ylaCmXw0fBQ?si=SkEVjaLn8FC0iZPe

Going into 2024 I had SO many BIG plans. 2023 was amazing. We moved into our new home, we got a new puppy, things were truly great. We were settling into a new routine and it was going smoothly. 

I am big on routine and having a plan.
Change, especially sudden change, doesn’t sit well with me. It throws me off balance, and finding my footing can take time.

The start of the year came in with a huge bang. Literally. Conrad discovered climbing and jumping off the furniture. He could no longer be contained. He learned how to open all the doors, take down the safety gates, and escape his bedroom at night. If I thought we weren’t getting sleep before, I was proven wrong. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to give Conrad more freedom while still keeping him safe.

Any parent of a small child understands the stress of keeping your kids safe. A parent of a special needs child knows this times a million. Regardless of their age or size many of these kids do not have a concept of danger. Night time is the worst because you need to sleep but you’re also worried about what could happen in your sleep. anxiety. For example:

I remember nights lying awake, wondering if Conrad would somehow sneak out of his room and into danger. It’s an overwhelming feeling, knowing you can’t always control every risk.

We had to figure out ways to keep him safe and maintaine our sanity.  

Just when I thought we had settled into a new normal, life threw another curveball-this time in the form of a job layoff.

When I received the news, in early February, I was in shock. I hadn’t expected it, and for a moment, I felt paralyzed. But then, I knew I had to pivot. I couldn’t stay in that space of uncertainty.

I am extremely lucky to have a group of supportive friends that are always there to help me get that couch up their stairs and around the corners. (Please see video above)

Through my friends, and previous coworkers, I was able to connect to my old manager that just so happened to have an open position. We had a call that day and when my husband came home I was able to give him the bad news and good news all at once. By the end of the week I was accepting a new position with a new company. 

The next pivot was when my husband had to start going back to the office 4 days a week. We had gotten so used to him being home. We were able to juggle getting Conrad to therapy together, but now he would need to be in the office and I would be home alone in the morning with the kids.  

Then came the travel. The month of September I spent most of my time in airports. I had to travel to Tennessee, Utah and Las Vegas. This left my husband home alone with the kids. While I had to just adjust to mornings alone he had a to do it all.  Of course he did an amazing job and handled it all without an issue. But we are a team and leaving wasn’t easy. 

While the year didn’t go as expected, it was a year of growth, resilience, and unexpected joys. We may not have achieved every goal, but we learned how to pivot-and sometimes, that’s all we really need.