It's Saturday night and mother and I have settled into our usual routine. Sometime between 7pm-8pm we wander downstairs with our supper to sit on the couch in front of the TV. We eat our food as we gaze at whatever series we are currently binging. After we eat Fran will typically sit on the couch and do the sleepy head bob for an hour or so. Whenever I ask her if she is tired, she denies it adamantly and attempts to participate with whatever is going on with the TV. A giggle for a comedy, a shocked gasp for a drama. Sometimes she starts to mutter and will eventually wake herself up with her own mutterings. If I ask her if she's sleepy or suggest she go to bed I am met with the fatigued resistance typical of a 10 year old. She immediately denies being sleepy, will sit up tall, adjust herself some, and within 5-10 minutes will close her eyes again. 

Mother and I have been on this journey for a little over one year, about 8 months full time. We have established a comfortable routine that allows her some independence (with built in safety measures) and familiarity. She can finish my sentences because they are the same ones over and over again every night. We cook together and she is my go-to vegetable chopper and pot stirrer while I do all the precise measuring and make sure we follow the recipe. Tonight we made a Paneer Tiki Masala that was almost too spicy! Her homemaker skills are so ingrained in her that she sweeps the floor every day, which is helpful from the dog hair perspective, but I can't help but feel a little guilty that she does it every day. 

Today was a good day but I attribute a lot of that to the constant narrative that she hears. I tell her the night before what our day is going to look like. I review the day in the morning the day of and then in the evening we recap her adventures. It took me a long time to adjust my expectations and find what worked for us. There was a lot of trial and error. There were a lot of frustrations and tears shed. There was a time or two my anger and frustration got the better of me as well. But I hope to use this site to document our journey so others can learn from us. Hopefully I can help take out one bump of the very bumpy road we are all walking down together.