HURRICANE DOVI STILL IN FULL FORCE

Thank G-d for a return to normalcy,
That is, for everyone but me!
Sandy may have come and gone like a dream,
But thanks to the B.o.E., Hurricane Dovi still reigns supreme!

It's been a trying time here at Chez Blogowitz due to the Board of Ed closures due to Hurricane Sandy. Yesterday was kind of manageable; my husband came home early from work and kept him busy. Today, private schools in my neighborhood are all back to normal, but the Board of Ed is still closed, so Dovi is still home. Now I hear that it's closed tomorrow too. It is getting difficult.

Yesterday, while I was drinking my morning coffee and Dovi was safely ensconced in bed, he did what he usually does when he has a dirty diaper and is bored; he stripped down to his birthday suit and painted a masterpiece I refer to as Poopie Picasso. Unfortunately the most unpleasant part of autism is a phenomenon known as fecal smearing. I leave the rest up to your imagination, if you haven't lost your lunch yet. I spent half the morning cleaning him up - it was indescribably disgusting - and the other half of the morning keeping him away from his reeking room and trying not to gag. After I finally dropped him off at a lovely volunteer family (more on them later), I spent the entire afternoon taking apart his bed, disinfecting it, soaking and washing his bedclothes and linens, and putting it all back together.

Thank goodness, due to a bunch of precautions we took last night - which I'll elaborate on as the story on this site builds - we didn't have a repeat incident this morning. We do, however, have a raided and ransacked kitchen which will take me hours to clean up.

Due to the MTA closures, neither my cleaning help nor Dovi's Home Health aide have been able to come so far and probably won't for the time being. And now I hear that the Board of Ed is still closed tomorrow. I am worrying for my mental health.

Those of you who have not personally dealt with an autistic, hyperactive child cannot begin to comprehend what I'm talking about. So please don't judge.

Suffice it to say, I'm grateful to HaShem that my family and community got through the actual storm with no damage, power outages or loss of life.

But the collateral damage might just be my mental health.

Here's to hoping his school reopens tomorrow. Time to start praying!!!!

ETA: Looks like my prayers were accepted. School WILL be open tomorrow BH. Whewwwww.