The Very Confused Flamingo A story about skipping, autism, and discovering that sometimes the journey matters more than the destination. A surprisingly accurate artistic recreation of today's events. Today, at thirty six years old, I decided to try skipping. I had not attempted it since I was a child. Before I started, I did what any reasonable adult would do. I watched a tutorial video. The instructor made it look easy. Step. Hop. Step. Hop. Alternate legs. Smile. Apparently, this is called skipping. Confident in my newly acquired knowledge, I headed into the hallway and prepared to demonstrate my athletic prowess. The results were... disappointing. My brain understood the assignment perfectly. My body, however, had other plans. Every time I told my legs to hop, they simply refused. It was not a balance issue. It was not a lack of understanding. My legs just collectively decided that leaving the ground was an unr...

When “Simple” Things Are Not So Simple People often think tasks like laundry, cleaning, or paying bills are just part of being an adult. For many, that is true. For some of us, those simple things come with an invisible cost. It is not that we cannot do them. Each task pulls from the same small well of energy that also fuels focus, emotions, and the ability to stay calm. When that well runs dry, everything else starts to fall apart. Sometimes what looks like procrastination is someone trying to decide which part of their day they can afford to let drop. Do they fold the laundry and spend the rest of the night overstimulated. Or do they rest and face guilt for not keeping up. True support is not about stepping in to fix everything. It is about noticing that easy is not universal. It is about offering grace, and steady help, when the world demands more than a body and mind can give. If you have felt like you are failing ...