“Why Didn’t You Wake Anyone Up?” – Ayub And His Morning Routine

Can I tell you a story?

Last week, my big boys went back to school, right? After 7 (?) months of staying home, waking up at 6am to get ready for school at 7am was not easy.

So one morning, I overslept. Mr Ninja overslept. Sulaiman the Intern overslept. The two little bebbies… slept.

At around 6.45am I jumped out of bed like omgggggggg what have I doneeeeeee.

Looked at the time, was like omgomgomg, shook the hubs awake, rushed to Sulaiman’s room to wake him, then went to Ayub’s room…and he was gone???

Went downstairs to find:

1. 1x Happy child, bathed and breakfasted (I know it’s not a real word)
2. Empty bowl in the kitchen sink, cereal back in the pantry, and soy milk in the fridge
3. School bag packed and on
4. Lunch box packed (peanut butter sandwiches with cookies for a snack so cute)
5. Water bottle filled6. Socks, shoes, and mask on
6. Front door open to see his driver

“Why didn’t you wake anyone up?”

“I don’t know.”

“You woke up by yourself and got ready to leave, and didn’t tell anyone???”

“Yeah.”

After so many years of me doing/helping him complete these tasks, he did it all on his own!

If you have a kiddo on the autism spectrum or with ADHD, you’ll understand how frustrating it is for everyone (including the kiddo) to struggle completing back-to-back tasks. They get distracted, they get confused, they forget, panic, give up…

For the longest time, Ayub couldn’t complete two tasks in a row. He would stop after the first and forget about the second. But Ayub did everything! All by himself. That’s like 10 tasks completed back to back!!

Like a pre-programmed robot. All the data I entered over the years, executed perfectly. He’s so cute lah.

Ayub loves routine. He loves schedules. He loves knowing exactly what’s going to happen next. It keeps him feeling safe and happy. Without a set routine, his anxiety will shoot up.

That morning made me laugh. Seeing this kiddo all dressed and ready for school. I had never told him what to do if his dad or I did not wake up. I hadn’t explained that he should wake one of us up if we overslept. And it just never occurred to him to do it. Waking up people is not part of his regular routine. Silly baby.

But it also made me feel…relief. I worry about Ayub as an adult. Gaining independence. Living alone? Working? Managing his time and money?

When I think back to when he was much younger. The meltdowns because he didn’t want to wear new clothes or new shoes, or forgetting to eat, not being able to brush his teeth…he’s just come so far.

I think he’s doing great.

[Picture of him chilling alone downstairs all ready for school, without waking anyone haha]