It’s finally summer! School is over and it’s time for a break from everything!! No more lunches to make (for some of us), no more early nights, no more homework, and no more teachers!!! Hooray!!

It’s time to spend your days in a different way. How do you do this? Are you a parent who has been planning camps and activities for months and have each week of the summer all planned out? Are you one of those parents who has some plans and then allows for some down time? Are you a parent who has no plans at all for your children and just wing it as you go?

Whatever kind of parent you are, summer usually looks different from the normal school year.

Different is good. We all need breaks and downtime now and then. It’s important for our mental and physical health. For people on the autism spectrum, change and downtime is sometimes much more difficult to navigate. We as people know that it is important to have a routine to keep things on track most of the time, but we are also able to turn it off and be in “vacation mode,” no problem.

When you have ASD, you are dependent at times on “sameness” and routines. This can reduce stress and anxiety and well as knowing what to expect in the course of a day. I personally have struggled with this for both of our children for many years. If I am being really honest, the process for us has evolved in two totally different ways for each of our children.

For our daughter, she needs quiet, alone time when school is over. This is how she decompresses and gets rid of the stress that she has been bottling up for weeks. This year was her first year of university and with covid restrictions for the first half of the year, it was challenging. It literally took her a month of alone time in her room, resting and just vegging out to be able to function.

For our son, he is just in his first few days after school has been out and he has had a couple of challenging days just unwinding and getting used to his “summer” routine. He spends a good chunk of the summer at the cottage which is his absolute favourite place on earth. Since one of his courses was very stressful this past semester he is trying to forget about that and focus on doing some fun activities.

Each year, I modify the expectations and plans and I try to tune into each of their needs and plan fun things accordingly. I feel lucky that I have been able to have so much input into their lives and I feel very close to each of them in different ways. They both make me very happy to be a Mother and I’m extremely proud of both of them for all of their accomplishments.

That must be how God feels when he looks at us, his children. He knows us inside and out. He loves us so much that he knows the number of hairs each of us has on our head. In Luke 12:7, it states that “Why even the hairs on your head are numbered.” Imagine that!!! Someone who knows us so intimately.

We are his children and our needs are constantly changing and he knows our most intimate thoughts as well as when we are struggling and He loves us unconditionally. It’s important that we never forget that. God will never forsake us, ever. In Deuteronomy 31:8 says “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

While you take hold of your summer schedule (whatever that looks like for you), please remember God’s promises and how much He loves you. And, never question, what you decide for your own children, because whatever you decide it will be the right thing for your family!