Pick-Up Game

 

I assume many other working parents find kid pick-up to be one of the more stressful aspects of juggling job and kids. Asher's special needs and oversized personality are a precious thing about him that we love him through and for. Yet, if I'm being honest, they also tax me dearly.

My job, while I love it, is a hard one. On top of the stress and complexity of any given work day is the fact that almost always the work day must continue beyond the time at which I have to scoot in order to make pick-up. Which means I'm already contemplating, after a long grind that started many hours ago, what else I need to bang out before I can get myself down for a reasonable amount of sleep.

It's a huge pick-me-up to have a sliver of time in between to reunite with Asher. He has a way of making you forget how good or bad your day was, and taking you on a journey to wherever his active imagination might lead in the moment.

I must confess, though, that there are aspects of our relationship and of this daily routine that seem uniquely designed to try my patience. Things I find myself having to take many deep breaths to bear:

* As alluded to above, I'm always thinking ahead. What do I need to do tonight, tomorrow, this weekend, next month, next year, for the next several decades. Asher, in contrast, is very much in the moment. Which forces me, in ways that are good for me but hard for me, to be absolutely present with him, as if there is nothing else in the world but him and this exact moment.

* I am a fairly organized person who absolutely hates misplacing things. Asher's several ADHD means it's a rare occurrence that he HASN'T lost something during a given day, which necessitates a split-second decision about whether it is worth it to figure out where it is or give up and trudge home empty-handed.

* Asher's behavioral issues have abated considerably, but the combination of it being a long day and me being a safe space often means he's bottled up a lot of emotion and then lets loose on me. Lucky me, right? As someone who is pretty calm and cool, and who has literally never been in a physical fight in his fight, being yelled at and whaled at can be a, let's just not pleasant way to decompress from work to home.

Whew! I wouldn't trade these mundane interactions for the world. But I tell you the can take the absolute starch out of me.