My autistic son: A Day in my Life "JJ and a Whole New Level"

A Day in My Life "JJ and a Whole New Level" 

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Episode Two

It was 2015, my kid JJ had just turned nine years old, and boy, was life dealing us a dicey hand!

Gas prices seemed to be on some crazy roller-coaster ride, reaching such heights that we felt like we were going into electric shock every time we filled the car. I mean, those numbers on the gas station signs just kept spinning like a slot machine. Not the kind of jackpot anyone's excited to hit, mind you.

Do you think that was the rock bottom? Ha, I wish. What hit hardest was our big old mortgage mess. Standing there looking at the paperwork, I could have sworn I was playing hide-and-seek with the numbers. It was like the payment amounts had a life of their own, and they sure were having a good laugh at my expense. We ended up having to refinance our house, which meant saying hello to payments that made my paycheck choke. And despite running the business, the numbers didn't add up, and we were under some heavy financial thunderclouds.

That made us take some real bitter pills, like doing a short sale on our home. And you know what was worse? We were swiping our credit cards so often, that they were practically shooting sparks. Meanwhile, my business was starting to feel the heat from the blazing gas prices.

Then there was the twist with my step-daughter. Long story short – she and my nephew decided to play virtual cowboys and siphoned some dough from two of my business accounts. And 'howdy partner', Florida State Prison was to be her new rodeo for a year and a day.

The Realization of a Faux Business

Around that time I had an epiphany. I found myself tangled up in a cleaning franchise I'd invested in, which wasn't as glowy as I'd pictured. See, I thought I was a business owner, but boy was I wrong! I was actually just a sub-contractor working for the actual business owner.

They roped me in with sweet words, "You're the boss!", they said. Sounds fancy, right? The trouble was, they were conveniently forgetting to mention I'd be the one covering my taxes, insurance, and the wages for my helpers.

It was like entering a party as the guest of honor but ending up as the one cleaning up after everyone. I could barely afford to make my helper employees due to the tricky tax laws. So, they too became sub-contractors in this tricky relay race.

A Home, Sweet Home!

With all of this drama, we had to open up our hearts and home to my stepdaughter's three children. With a home filled with love, laughter, and occasional cries, I managed to rent a four-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom house.

Juggling our budget, we could afford the rent. But the electricity bill had other plans. It soared, thanks to a mysterious heating system that the landlord installed in the attic. That contraption was as greedy as a cookie monster, chomping away at our budget with electric bills hitting $600 and $700 a month. Hello, moving trucks!

So, we packed up and started anew in a three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bathroom house in the next city. Amid all these changes, cracks were starting to show in my relationship with my son's mom. We loved each other, but it was as if we were ascending different mountains.

A Whole New Level

And amid all this, my little man JJ decided it was his turn to shock us. As if dealing with mortgage documents written in an alien language wasn't enough, JJ began having sudden bursts of violence. I'm talking TVs and phones flying around like frisbees, laptops taking nosedives off tables, and our walls looking like someone's bad attempt at abstract art.

It was like watching him being possessed by some wild spirit, his eyes brimming with rage, tongue clamped between his teeth. It was beyond me why a nine-year-old was acting like a cornered animal. Watching him, it was clear we needed to find him a therapist or counselor quickly.

Eph. 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Well, that's one heck of a chapter in my life. Feel like I just relived it all over again. Whew! Riding the rollercoaster of life, aren't we? Be sure to come back for more stories—I've got plenty!

THANK YOU FOR READING, COME BACK AGAIN!!!