Not too long ago we bought each of our teenagers earphones so they could listen to their music in their ears without being influenced by the world around them. For the 17 year old, she preferred an in-ear option and we found a pair that suits her. As for the 14 year old, she opted for a wireless over-the-ears option that apparently also can provide her some ability to block out the world even when the music isn’t playing through them. What makes me laugh, however, is that whenever the 14 year old puts on her headphones and connects them, she often repeats the electronic voice telling her, You are connected. Battery full. Sometimes the announcement tells her the battery is medium, but she reminds us often that never has the electronic voice announced, Battery Low.
While that may be the case for her headphones and her ability to listen to her music, these past few days have absolutely left her, her sister, and me feeling like there is an electronic voice or meter over each of our heads announcing: Battery Power Low. Mind you, it’s been a pretty good few days, celebrating birthdays first for the (now) 17 year old and then me, a surprise visit from one of my best friends from West Virginia from Friday evening until this morning, and then a family gathering to celebrate those birthdays this afternoon. Oh, and there was also a little jaunt to an indie vinyl record store and a used bookstore on Friday afternoon before the surprise visit from my friend.
In other words, it’s been a whirlwind.
It’s been a fun whirlwind filled with celebration and joy and delight. But it’s also been a whirlwind with some interruption to routines and regular rhythms and sleeping arrangements. My teenagers have been amazing about that, knowing how much my friend’s visit meant to me. Their willingness to share me with my dear friend was a sweet gesture to me. Even so, I sensed the dysregulation pulsing beneath the surface of their presence.
And so, as we approached this afternoon’s culmination of celebration with family, albeit pretty small in number, I was starting to feel the drain of several days of busyness. In my mind, I could hear that electronic voice my 14 year old likes to imitate, but with the more dramatic voice and the more dramatic declaration: Battery Power Low.
Indeed, we three neurodivergent lovelies are feeling the impact of a busy few days of socializing and celebrating and outings and gatherings. Our social batteries are drained. They are low and we are in need of some decompression, which is why when my 14 year old announced yesterday that perhaps on Monday (tomorrow), maybe we didn’t have to jump back into school and we could have a down day, Wow! Did that resonate with me. And then the 17 year old chimed in, adding that it was kind of like after the Christmas holiday and needing to ease back into life.
That’s us.
And that’s why I will acknowledge what they’ve said and what we feel and how much we need a reset day. A down day. We need time to take a deep breath and ease back into our “regular” life. I love that my teenagers are able to know that about themselves and also remind me that that’s what we need to do. Because, honestly, sometimes I forget that part of our lives—the reset—and think we need immediately to dive back into all the things.
But we don’t.
So tomorrow, if anyone is looking for us, we’ll be the trio of lovely ladies layered in our blanket fort here at our home taking some time to breathe and consider the day in light of nothing more than taking the next breath. And I wouldn’t have it any other way!