Do you know what the first thing I do when I wake up?
I think about Matthew. No, that’s not sweet. I don’t want to deal with peed or pooped in 12 year old underwear! So my first thought is, “Is Matt awake?” It’s not hard to tell if he is or not. He starts talking the second he wakes up. And he is not quiet about it either. That’s another reason he and Rachel share a room. They are both early risers and chatterers.
If Matty isn’t awake then I relax and lay very still, because if I move he will hear me and wake up. If he is awake then I tell him to go get on the potty and the day begins.
This routine never breaks in my head. NEVER! He is with his grandparents this weekend. Yet, the second I could form an intelligent thought it was, “Is Matty awake?” Of course, that was followed with, “He isn’t here today.”
My mind and body are always on call. It is so ingrained in my soul that I need to care for my kids that it takes it a 
minute to realize when they aren’t home. They are gone every other weekend and my body wakes up ready for duty every single day.
A lot of people get stumped with the question, “How do you do it?” A common answer is that this life is their new normal. Which is the same thing as saying that love and time conditions us to care for our difficulties whether it is caring for a special needs child or parent, a high stress job, or anything that is really tough. Let me tell you, Matty has me conditioned well!!
And now that I’m not on call this weekend, I’m going to lay in bed, drink my coffee and watch a movie. Hope everyone gets a least one relaxing, restful moment this weekend.
