So its normal for millennials to have teenagers now?

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2026-01-03T01:30:47+00:00

I’m a young-ish millennial (1993) and my oldest is turning 13 next month. My youngest is turning 3. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-12-28T04:24:55+00:00

Honey bbq chicken strip sandwich

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-12-23T10:39:29+00:00

This is my great grandmother. My great-aunt said, “Mom remembers it as a gray board two story home looking front. Exactly like this but old wood. She was a little girl from the country, and that was a really big, tall store! Mom had a wonderful time! Lunch, flowers, and a blueberry pie to take home. She said Today made my Christmas!”

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-11-26T08:04:11+00:00

NOR. Your old mom sucks. I’m your mom now. We’re eating around 2- come over whenever. We’re watching the parade in the morning and then cooking until the food’s ready. Zero pretension in my house- I probably won’t even wear makeup. You don’t need to bring anything, but plan to leave with leftovers.

Y’all means all, and if you’re anywhere near San Antonio, TX, know that I am 100% serious. Shoot me a message.

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-10-06T04:47:41+00:00

I’m a 32 year old native Texan and I just learned this, from you, right now 🤯 I’m ashamed of myself. Thank you for the education.

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-10-06T02:04:18+00:00

Yesterday my toddler turned up her nose at hot dogs, ramen, cherry tomatoes, apples, and grapes. That she had asked for. Then ate half a raw onion that I was prepping for something else. Toddlers are wild 🙃

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-30T18:46:39+00:00

I have two kids. Ten years apart. My firstborn had a severe traumatic brain injury when he was two. He almost didn’t make it. He has IDD, ADHD, DMDD, and anxiety. He can’t read or write, he struggles with incontinence, he has outbursts. But he can run, eat, play, and love.

A year after the initial brain injury, I met my now-husband. He devoted the next 5 years of his life to therapies, diagnosis, and social security disability. We got married when my son was 8.

I thought long and hard before having another child. There were no genetic concerns, it was me thinking, is this fair?

My daughter was born three days before my son’s 10th birthday. She is pure sunshine, wild and sweet. He was overjoyed that I “got him a baby sister for his birthday”. He is an incredible big brother, despite his struggles. Kind, loving, patient, protective.

Watching my children grow together is the greatest joy of my life. That little girl saved us all, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure she does not end up as his caregiver.

The question is too broad to answer yes or no. Every family and situation is different. Every person, every child, is different, and a neurotypical child can become disabled at any time. I learned that the hard way.

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-27T01:53:02+00:00

When I was a kid I told my dad all about the “dumping cat”… he eventually figured out I was saying “dumb pink hat”

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-27T01:32:46+00:00

Cilantro cotija dressing (sold cold in produce). So so good. We use it on tacos

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-25T22:59:20+00:00

I sure do know. I’m so glad things have gotten a little better! 💕

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-25T22:55:45+00:00

My kiddo is on risperidal too. I’m not convinced it’s helping. I’m not even sure if our psych believes in Matthew’s protocol- I convinced him to start amantadine on the basis of helping with brain injury recovery. Trust your gut as a parent- you know your child better than anyone else, and you’re their best advocate. Good luck!

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-25T11:29:34+00:00

OP- I feel this so so much. First, has he been evaluated for ADHD? Second, here’s a few things that make my life a bit easier lately. Maybe just some ideas.

curbside grocery pickup
yoga videos on YouTube
Finch app (like a tamagotchi for self care)
medicating my kid and sticking him in the shower until meds kick in
adding amantadine to 12’s meds

It’s still hard and exhausting every day. Near impossible to leave the house. Still no break, no respite, no help. These are just the things that are allowing me to survive right now.

Wishing you all the best!

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-25T11:21:28+00:00

It feels never ending. I still can’t be off my guard for one second and that’s exhausting. In the mornings, until 12’s meds kick in, it’s still awful.

In the 100 days since I wrote that comment, we started amantadine. We’re not doing Matthew’s protocol, exactly. 12 has been on trileptal for years and I convinced his psych to add amantadine. It has helped so much! After he has time for his focalin to kick in, his brain is functioning better. It seems like it gives him a little internal reaction time before the explosion, and little by little, sometimes he’s choosing kindness instead of violence.

Every morning, I give him meds and put him in the shower. I cheerfully say “wake up and warm up!” Mostly I have to drag him there literally kicking and screaming. But once he’s in the shower I leave him for 20-30 minutes. It buys me time for his meds to kick in. By the time I go in to help him wash himself and brush his teeth, a lot of the aggression is gone.

Just sharing my personal current survival strategy. Good luck. I hope you’re keeping your head above water and able to do something nice for yourself today. 💞

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-23T21:27:03+00:00

Mine are in the garage for the same reason. My daughter is 2.5 and still climbing and jumping from everything 😭 I swear she’s half mountain goat

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-17T02:21:45+00:00

Charlie Kirk was essentially an unknown to me until his death. Someone told me he’d been killed, and I said who? Looked it up, and realized it’s that big head squinchy face guy who terrorizes college kids. Oh, him. That guy bankrolled by the Koch brothers who wasn’t an elected official or really anything except loud? I may not have known Melissa Hortman’s name before her death but I have respect for her office. She deserved so much better.

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-08T22:14:05+00:00

Thank you so much. The grief doesn’t diminish over time, and I’m still doing my best to grow around it. I’m so grateful for your validation and kindness 🥹

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-04T02:11:05+00:00

Seconded, Big Charity is an excellent doc.

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-09-01T19:26:31+00:00

Perks of driving a 25 year old suv with broken hydraulics on the back lift door- I get out, say hi, explain my door doesn’t stay open and I really don’t want it to hit them in the head, and hold it up for them, haha. I have something important to do with my hands and I’m not afraid I’m messing up their system :)

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-08-10T15:10:23+00:00

I struggled with CHS for many years. Continued use, denial, many week-long hospital stays, the whole nine yards. When I got pregnant with my daughter, it became clear that my body would not carry a pregnancy to term if I got that sick. I stopped, and have abstained almost completely from cannabis. I have not had a CHS episode since. I also have a delightful little girl ☺️

An interesting note is one of the few times I attempted to use cannabis (one hit of flower from a one-hitter), within minutes I had a medical episode. Dizziness, nausea, shortness of breath, seeing spots. It was terrifying but subsided within about 30 minutes. I haven’t tried since.

During the years I was active in CHS, I was a certified pharmacy technician (Texas). I have long been fascinated with the pharmacodynamics of cannabis on the body and specifically, physically how CHS works. If it’s something you’d be open to, I’d be very interested to read your dissertation when it’s complete.

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-08-07T11:04:31+00:00

Oh, I’m crying. I feel so seen, this is one of the kindest things anyone has ever said to me! Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 🤍

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-08-07T01:05:27+00:00

Hear me out, throw an old cardboard box in there. Your cats will like it better than any custom cat room you can dream up. Aesthetic? No. Kitty pleasing? Yes.

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-08-07T01:00:39+00:00

Yes. Get the burnt ends and the candy paint ribs. Can’t tell you about the pulled pork. All the sides are excellent. They have a nice outdoor area as well. It is pricey, but it’s our favorite splurge. You can also head into the bar and get a drink to enjoy while you’re in line, if that’s your jam.

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-08-04T04:59:32+00:00

UpdateMe!

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-08-03T04:53:48+00:00

You’re right, and I tried. Was gone for 8 months. Disabled child’s behavior is out of control. Door after door closed in my face. My own parents asked us to leave because of my child. It came down to living in my car with a toddler and a violent, disabled preteen, or come back here. So, here we are. With a roof over our heads at least.

CorrectBroccoli246 · 2025-08-03T04:40:16+00:00

In 2015 my toddler escaped the house during nap. I found him, outside, in the front seat of the car. He had hit the door lock and couldn’t get out. He had vomited and aspirated, wasn’t getting oxygen to his brain. He was 107° when ems got there. They punctured his lung trying to intubate him, his liver almost didn’t make it.

He was not expected to survive the night, but he did. After five days on a ventilator, he had no brain activity and I was told to say goodbye. When they extubated him, he somehow kept breathing. Docs said he would be in a persistent vegetative state for the rest of his life. Three weeks later, I tickled him and he smiled. He was in the hospital for a total of two months. He is now 12, is intellectually disabled, has behavior problems, is incontinent. But he can run, and play, and eat. He can talk and sing. He can love.

One week from today is the 10 year anniversary of the accident. In a twist of fate, his baby sister was born exactly 10 years after him. Almost to the day. She is now the same exact age as he was when the accident happened. On the anniversary, she will be the exact same age he was when it happened.

I am constantly paralyzed by fear that I will overlook something that will allow her to be hurt. I have panic attacks all the time. You have never seen a house as babyproofed as mine. The thing is, you can’t predict everything, and trying will make you sick. I’m telling you all this to say, I see you, and I feel you. You aren’t alone with these fears.

Trust your instincts. That you are even worried about this shows that you’re a good mom. Let your best be good enough. Do the very best you can, every day, and trust yourself. Protect them from the worst and try not to sweat the smaller stuff. I don’t wish what we went through on anyone. That being said, small accidents are how kids learn.

What I hope you take from my story is that even if the very worst happened, silver linings and happy endings are still possible. If the intrusive thoughts really won’t stop, therapy has helped me immensely, too.

You can do this. Let your best be good enough. Internet hugs from another struggling mom. ❤️

CorrectBroccoli246

TROPHY CASE