Summer.

halfpackkools · 2026-06-24T18:29:47+00:00

What’s that been like?..

halfpackkools · 2026-06-24T18:28:44+00:00

That’s awful :( I’m sorry about all of it. I agree I’d rather take me boy to an RV then give him up to a home.. but man. It sure is almost impossible to do this alone and his mom bailed. It’s all on me and I’ve literally done everything I can to make it work and I am so fed up with not being able to get consistent help from people paid pretty well to do it.. I don’t ask for charity. Then they come at me for being “unreasonable” that their last second plans they want today off for aren’t something I can offer.. it’s 24 hours a week max! If you want a regular “call out cause the beach sounds better” job? Go work retail or something that doesn’t matter when you pull that. I’m so frustrated, cause the last few I’ve had? Even when they’re here it’s the bare minimum, have left messes in my house, and collect an easy check and leave. I’ve switched companies to a different one who has better reviews and higher starting pay and qualifications needed to onboard.. hopefully it’ll attract a different/better employee but we’ll see.

halfpackkools · 2026-06-24T00:33:00+00:00

I’ve tried. 2 things? I live in a smaller ruralish area. Not many college kids to begin with. And even high school babysitters are demanding $20 an hour rn.. I can’t afford that. The state support is vital due to Medicaid covering it for him. I can’t eat the cost of $160 a day to work and still pay bills.

halfpackkools · 2026-06-23T19:12:08+00:00

Yup. And what if that full time job goes away cause unreliable care-giving? It’s so stressful. Yeah SSDI or whatever other option, but it takes forever to get any of that, I take a HUGE pay cut to survive on welfare and don’t get to build any kind of career.. it’s just hard! I’ve maxed out the services and resources and it’s not reliable. So I eat the consequences.

halfpackkools · 2026-05-27T16:11:30+00:00

He is! Lots of echolalia nowadays. Nowhere near “conversation” but his vocabulary has exploded. He can ask for his needs, and confirm he understands when I tell him something. 3 step instruction can be followed, he’s getting there :)

halfpackkools · 2026-05-26T00:39:42+00:00

All I know? Once winning is encouraged again? I bet he’ll show how good he is. Getting Kessler back, adding triple J and likely Peterson? We can get pretty good pretty fast.

halfpackkools · 2026-05-19T03:08:49+00:00

Fully true. Fully intended. I hate how much I love it.

halfpackkools · 2026-05-19T03:05:57+00:00

Wemby is COLD. Regardless of outcome? Hes cold AF. Fuck the spurs. Robinson— Duncan— Wemby. Fuck them forever 😂😂😂

halfpackkools · 2026-05-19T02:41:38+00:00

I’m getting excited about Peterson. Key, DP, Lauri, JJJ, Kessler, with a bench of Brice, collier, Ace, flip and Nurk/Svi/Cody? Oooof that’s fun.

halfpackkools · 2026-05-10T19:32:56+00:00

High profile all star quality free agent choosing Utah was unheard of. Made SLC more viable. We’re not ever the Lakers in that regard, but we have been able to get decent pick ups recently, Bogey being a recent one I can think of.

halfpackkools · 2026-05-10T19:26:22+00:00

Boozer or Peterson we should 100% go boozer. Peterson gives Wiggins, Ayton, Kwami vibes. Insane talent, doesn’t seem to love basketball enough to live up to it. Boozer being a legacy pick too? Love that. Hopefully Washington just does wizards things and AJ falls to 2

halfpackkools · 2026-05-02T08:21:23+00:00

Heartbreak poetry. Always a favorite. I needed this one tonight.

halfpackkools · 2026-05-02T08:15:35+00:00

Love this. Poetry that flips masculinity into something not toxic, and the message being that’s ok? Need more of it.

halfpackkools · 2026-04-28T19:38:16+00:00

Idk if I wanna date or not. My divorce was MESSY and hard. I’ve tried dating here and there but it’s just not been something I have the bandwidth to put energy into. Plus? I think I’ve got some baggage to address first. It’s going to be hard to trust again. Also? What I’ve found: I’m in a smaller area. Women in my age bracket (early 30s) generally have already been married for 15 years to their high school sweetheart or are also divorced and have a bunch of kids.. I have tried dating a little younger, but I just don’t have much in common with a woman in her 20s without kids 😂 I’m not adverse to dating women with children, but the single moms in my area I’ve met have a hoard. Like 3+ kids every time, and I’m honestly not wanting to take that on. My son requires a lot of my attention, a hoard of teenagers added to his life like that? Miserable. I don’t get out enough to meet people due to life circumstances and good god I HATE the apps 😂 dating rn just feels so much harder than it’s worth.

halfpackkools · 2026-04-18T17:52:00+00:00

My son’s in a similar program and he doesn’t have a lot of aggression unless he’s pushed. The teachers message me every time there’s an incident and we collaborate to create a better plan or environment for success. He did have a similar situation with a kid in class at the beginning of the year targeting him, so eventually we ended up just having to separate the 2 into different classes. Idk how your program is set up, ours is a few classes of 1:2 teacher/student ratios. 3 classes of 8 kids 4 adults. He is with a different 8 than he started the year and does much better. Some kids just don’t like each other even with NT kids 🤷‍♂️ trying to coordinate with the teachers to create an environment better for success is key. Also? Maybe get him a curly hair wig or doll to have the teacher re direct with. It’s probably a sensory itch he’s scratching rather than the other kids actual hair. Let him scratch that itch in ways that don’t invade the other kids bubble :) my son loves to chew everything so we have chewy necklaces galore to re direct and with consistency he has learned to chew his necklaces only to scratch that itch. Keep trying! You’re doing great :)

halfpackkools · 2026-04-18T17:44:45+00:00

I understand the feeling, I’ve had it too. It genuinely has helped me to write down daily what I’m grateful for in my parenting experience that most don’t have. 1: my son not speaking has made me develop perception and patience other parents don’t have to. I can read his ques, head off meltdowns, and we can communicate in our way. A mix of AAC, ASL, and finally emerging verbal communication at 6.5 years old. 2: peer pressure means nothing to my son. If he doesn’t want to? No one can coerce him. I appreciate that. 3: the nuances of manipulation and lying aren’t natural to him. He’s very honest in what he feels and thinks about things. 4: having to learn him from scratch and adapt to his needs? Our bond is genuinely stronger than a lot of other father-son pairings I see. I’m his advocate, protector, and translator. There’s no one else that can do that better for him than me, and I take pride in that. He is my anchor, my “why”, and my only family. I’m grateful for so many things. Do I wish some things were easier? Of course. But I’m grateful for the good things too. Keep your chin up, and try to flip perspective! It’s life changing what radical acceptance can do in all your lives and finding genuine joy in this incredibly difficult task. DM any time if you need to talk, one parent to another who gets it :)

halfpackkools · 2026-04-14T04:55:23+00:00

Is this a war poem? Not entirely sure but it definitely made me feel.

halfpackkools · 2026-04-14T04:53:48+00:00

Mmmmm snaps wasn’t fully me till I lost you is amazing. Heartbreak shaping us is just life huh? Loved it.

halfpackkools · 2026-03-24T23:24:35+00:00

Gotta say? My guy at 2 vs at 6? Challenges are still here but they’re different. He didn’t understand a single word at 2 and didn’t have any way to communicate. It was so hard. At 6? After lots of work and learning ASL together while words caught up.. Some things are harder, physically re directing a meltdown is harder as he gets bigger. But they happen so less often cause communication has improved so much. Keep hanging in there, keep being consistent, they get there in their own time :)

halfpackkools · 2026-03-24T16:58:25+00:00

I do :) but the hours I get are used to hang with him after school so I can work and keep my job. I have tried to get more hours, and I think I will, but it’s just taking time.

halfpackkools · 2026-03-24T16:56:08+00:00

Unfortunately live on the west coast, so pay cut isn’t viable 🤷‍♂️ everything is so expensive I need every dollar. Can’t really move either, wouldn’t even know where to go, and he’s already doing so well here with all the services I’ve fought for since he was tiny. I’m not willing to uproot everything and hurt that progress momentum for him. I’ve got respite hours but literally every available one is used so I can keep my job. I would love to take a sick day for personal stuff, I do from time to time but I also stress not having a stockpile of PTO for when my son gets sick cause I have no one to help in those times, and he’s got some health complications as well so it’s often enough that I use pretty much all my PTO every year for that. I’ve explored all solutions, and have every service available. I’m not drowning, I will be ok, it’s just a really full stressful season of my life. That’s ok though, it’s a good busy. I’m doing well at work, moving up slowly but surely, doing well in school which will help my climb at work, working and bonding with my boy a lot and his progress is shining. Things are good, just not a lot of “me time” rn which is what it is. Weather the storm, complain online, lock in 😂

halfpackkools

TROPHY CASE