11/03/2026
The hard days you don’t see…
I was thinking this morning about how much of KK’s journey I share on social media. I often share the good days, the accomplishments, the milestones and those little moments that mean so much to our family. But what you don’t often see are the hard days. And trust me, they exist.
I go back and forth with how much to share about KK’s personal struggles with Autism. The aggression, the biting, the self-injurious behaviors and the moments when things escalate so quickly that all you can do is focus on keeping everyone safe.
Today was one of those days. We went to vote. Something I have done countless times with Katelyn throughout the years. I’ve always taken her along because I want her to be familiar with the voting process, the environment and the experience.
But today, out of nowhere, things escalated. And before I knew it, I was having to physically intervene and restrain my daughter to safely get her back to our vehicle. I’m sure anyone at the voting precinct who witnessed it probably wondered what in the world was happening.
Autism isn’t always the happy pictures, the accomplishments, the cute videos and the proud mama moments. Sometimes it’s physically exhausting. Sometimes it’s emotionally draining. Sometimes it’s heartbreaking.
I struggle with how much of this side of our lives to share because while I believe awareness is important, I also believe my daughter deserves privacy and dignity, especially during her most vulnerable moments.
I never want her hardest moments to become someone else’s entertainment or a story told at her expense.
But I also don’t want families walking similar journeys to think they’re alone because all they ever see are the good days.
There are hard days in between. Really hard days. And while you may not see me post about them often, please know they exist.
Because on those days, I’m not reaching for my phone to document the moment. I’m trying to get through it, process what happened, reflect on what I could have done differently and sometimes just cry my eyes out.
Then tomorrow comes and we try again.
Because that’s what we do.
