The N. Todd Times (writer + veterinarian)

Never give up. If no one else does, I believe in you. 🧩💚

Had to tell myself this yesterday and today and probably tomorrow and probably all this week. It has been a LONG week fraught with communication issues. And a clinic emergency yesterday---aye!----my mentor had to come bail me out. And in the meantime, I got smart with a client who did not understand the urgency of the situation and decided to be completely rude even after I tried to explain. I even threw in the whole "I understand your frustration..." bit we went over 😪

Shutdown: autistic retreat from the world due to feelings of guilt and inadequacy, or other overwhelming triggers. It is a way of dealing with external stressors.

There is nothing like these mornings just spent on the couch with my service dog watching Clannad, eating teddy grams😅 and finding inspiration.

As an Aspie, sometimes I don't even realize my triggers; my brain will just shut down and sometimes meltdown without me knowing why. I have learned the feeling of overstimulation that happens before a meltdown. Such an episode happened at work once, but from it, I gained an amazing and compassionate mentor, whom I love dearly.

💜💜

Them: What is your favorite literary device?

Sending much love to everyone on this lovely Valentine's Day featuring one of my favorite photo shoots.

So Valentine's Day is tomorrow...and yes, it is still my favorite "holiday," even though my first marriage lasted less than a yr (thank you in part to Aspie sensory issues and in part to due to the good ole' irreconcilable differences). So this yr, it would be expected of me to be all sad and hateful...but I'm not. The lovely thing about my experience with Asperger's is I don't get attached or caught up on emotions like others. I recover pretty quickly with the power of logic. Honestly, I just tell myself the truth "The more time spent hurting is less time spent healing, and nothing is more lovely than a woman who can pull up her big girl boots and march on through despair like the most celebrated warrior on the battle field." A quick recovery isn't the secret to full recovery, though. Truth is, I keep my cards close to my chest because business is business and b.s. is just that😘 you give people an inch and they'll walk the mile with gossip and drama.