She’s been asking for the trip for weeks. “Car”, “boat”, “horse”, “walk”. Her way of asking for our annual trip to Mackinac Island.

I wrote a social story, we looked at pictures. We were ready.

Sometimes all the preparation in the world isn’t enough though.

Day 1 of our trip was awful. Sometimes when things are bad, I try to find the positives.

The biggest positive was how awesome the girls were during the drive. I mean AWESOME!!!!

The struggle started getting her on the ferry that takes us to the island. The ferry that she has gone on every year, there and back, since she was 10 months old. As hard as it was, the staff was great. They were calm, they didn’t rush us, they even tried to find ways to accommodate our needs. Thank you to that staff!

Once at the room, things were looking up. We got a room with a bathtub versus one with just a shower. Huge win since Courtney hates showers!

Another win…a wonderful time on the big porch where we ran into our friends that we see here every year.

Dinner in the big dining room. Again, something we’ve done for years. Usually we start off great. Usually we can sit and enjoy at least part of the meal. Not today. Not for even a minute.

Anxiety took over. It took over with all its might. It was stronger than I could fight.

But the anxiety didn’t scare the lady who came up to us as I was trying to get her into the elevator. The lady who said, “how can I help you? I teach children with autism”. Even after Courtney pinched her she continued to calmly find a way to help. In the end, she was the calm person who Alyssa needed at the time.

Anxiety didn’t scare the mom and two daughters away who also offered to help us. They helped get Courtney’s stroller to our room since Courtney refused to take the elevator.

The servers who made sure we all still got our amazing food in our room were even amazing.

While I cried that I wanted the leave, Joe took charge of brainstorming ways we can make meals work the rest of the week.

My parents were a huge positive as they reminded me over phone that I am strong and I always find a way to power through.

Alyssa is probably who powered through the most. She became the protector. She calmed me down, she told me the strategies to use when I was upset. She was the strong one who helped Courtney get her pjs on. She is the one who reminded me that our vacation was not over. It can’t be over.

Today was tough but amongst the struggle, the positive moments still were there and helped us persevere.