We are caught in a slow-down on the freeway. There’s a bottleneck up ahead.

My son is in the passenger seat, his lunchbox at his feet. We are heading home from his day program through the heat of the late afternoon.

I’m feeling the pressure of cars on all sides of us and watching for an uptick of anxiety from the boy on my right, due to this blip in our expected routine. This is a scenario ripe for agitation, for both of us.

Our lane has got to be the slowest. We are an island with everyone else skirting around us, getting ahead while we never seem to move.

I smile when I recognize the metaphor.

Oh, this is the special needs life – sitting side by side with the person you’re caring for, moving at a different pace, bracing yourself for the inevitable bumps in the road, trying to fit in … if others will let you.

Instead of this idea sending me into road rage, I am surprised to hear my thoughts – for the briefest of moments – go in a different direction:

I can be OK with this.

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