Sometimes, I’m jealous of my 20yo kid. We are both diagnosed AuDHD, however he’s able to do things I was never able to do…
I offer him jobs that could earn him money, some of the work some of my clients pay me for. These are skills he could learn, and he says no because they are not part of what he wants to be doing.
This is something I was never able to do.
From the time I was 18 and moved out of home, I did what I needed to to earn money.
These were jobs that didn’t fit with my goals and dreams. They were jobs where I would learn skills so I could be employed.
None of them lit me up, none of them gave me energy. They drained me, left me feeling exhausted. Learning all these skills, while useful, led me to be burn out, be exhausted.
I was supported and encouraged, and even congratulated, for doing these jobs, learning these skills. I still am.
What I need, is to write stories, publish them, share them with the world. But that didn’t fit the box.
When I was at high school, I was gold ‘Oh, you can write, be a journalist.’ That is not the type of writing I need to be doing.
There was no support for doing what I needed to do.
Even now, if I’m looking for a job, it’s all the skills others want me to have. There is no support for doing what I need to be doing.
If I wanted to clean the slate and say no to all the tasks that aren’t serving me so I can sit and write, then I can’t pay the rent.
Some days, I’m jealous of my 20yo. He is able to say no to things because he has the support to do that…
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