A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN AUTISM MUM By Karen
I made the mistake of not getting up as soon as I heard the boys awaken at 5am. Sleep was my only reprieve. In what seemed like seconds later, there were a series of little smashes on the kitchen floor, accompanied by giggling. I sighed, heaving my hefty body out of bed. Please not the eggs again.
It was the eggs again. Guess we wouldn’t be having scrambled eggs on toast for tea tonight. I was pretty sure who the culprit was, but Nathaniel made it easy for me, dobbing himself in. “Nathaniel, no!” “Nathaniel, that’s very naughty!” I scolded. He was slip-sliding around in the mess. Envisioning a fall and broken bones, I grabbed his arm with one hand and the mop and bucket with the other. After cleaning up the slimy guck, I gave Mikhail and Nathaniel their breakfasts. Nathaniel enjoyed a large bowl of Nutrigrain, but for years Mikhail had disliked breakfast, and ate only a fruit bar.
Finally, time for my coffee and smoke, which I relished outside. After dressing the boys, I put on a Winnie-the-Pooh video for Nathaniel, smiling as he danced from foot to foot to the theme song, while Sasha put on his KISS CD.
To the resultant cacophony, I prepared two rounds of Vegemite sandwiches for Mikhail’s lunch, placing them and an apple in his lunchbox, then his lunchbox and a drink into his school bag. Next, I sprayed their hair with leave-in conditioner and combed it. They both had glorious hair. Mikhail had brown curls and Nathaniel strawberry-blond waves. They were handsome lads. Mikhail was tall and slim with brown eyes and Nathaniel was stocky and blue-eyed. They did not look like brothers, and had scant regard for each other.
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