The Self-Care Support Squad

The Self-Care Support Squad

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The Self-Care Support Squad
The Self-Care Support Squad
When the Trip Flops and the Fireworks Don’t 🌱

When the Trip Flops and the Fireworks Don’t 🌱

On messy family trips, unexpected resets, and choosing what’s worth doing even when it’s hard.

Karen Kossow's avatar
Karen Kossow
Jul 05, 2025
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The Self-Care Support Squad
The Self-Care Support Squad
When the Trip Flops and the Fireworks Don’t 🌱
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🌱 There are a lot of hard things.

This week was supposed to be our “big” family camping trip of the year.

It did not go well.

We haven’t been out in the camper together since 2023, when, on our return journey from a weeks-long cross-country road trip, we stopped in Indiana for what turned out to be the most awful night we’ve ever had camping. And that’s saying something.

On this trip, both kids needed to come home early. We maybe could have pushed through, but none of us would have enjoyed it.

So I was the one who had to make the executive decision to throw them, all their sleeping stuff, and all the things they needed (so many Squishmallows!) into the car to head back.

My husband dropped me and both sick kids off at home, then went back up to finish out the last few nights of our reservation and pack up camp by himself.

So I was home alone with two sick kids, none of the fun camping food I’d prepped, and keeping watch on one child for signs of anaphylaxis.

Good times! At least the AC was working well…

When it comes to parenting autistic kids and/or living life as a neurodivergent parent, so much of what we have to do is inherently and innately hard.

That doesn’t mean you (or your kid!) are doing anything wrong.

🌱 Do them anyway.

But it does mean it’s very easy for your life to get very small if you avoid doing all the hard stuff.

I’m not talking about pushing through meltdown triggers or flooding your nervous system with stress to “learn how to deal.”

It means that you, as the parent, get to (and yes, we’re reframing the mindset that this is something you “have” to do…it is something you get to do) decide what experiences are in the best interest of your child - and yourself.

You can know something is going to be hard and still choose to do it. Not because it’s easy. Not because it’ll be perfect. But because it might still be worth it.

🌱 Sometimes they won’t work out.

We tried! We all did. And this camping trip just wasn’t a “success.”

I say that because we left early. I never got to take a single photo. And 2 out of the 3 days we were there were pretty unhappy for the kids.

But we made it up there.

We saw the mountains.

Grass was touched.

We spent a lot of time in the river.

We found a way for two children who don’t have much in common anymore to play and enjoy each other again.

And even though ¾ of us left the mountain that day wishing we could teleport home (did I mention I was sick too?!), we made it back safe and sound.

Mostly.

👉 Keep reading for a July 4th win, an unexpected reset, and some real talk about parenting, unplugging, and figuring out what’s sustainable...

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