Running on Fumes and Special Interests

I'm running on fumes... and the fumes are also tired.

And yet… somehow, I do it all. How?
Well, I don't do it all.  I get quite a bit of help.  My pile of laundry can be seen from outer space.  Sometimes I'm not productive at all.  What does makes me productive (when I am productive) is that I am very much aligned with the things I spend my time on. My job? Love it. My crafts and blog? Can’t stop thinking about them. My family and pets? Endlessly fascinating creatures.

People ask, “But if you’re autistic and chronically ill, how do you have the energy for all this?”

Simple: I’m not engaging with the rest of the world.
I’m skipping the parts that drain me (small talk most social events) and using my limited battery to laser-beam into my special interests.

Here’s the twist — if I don’t work on my passions, I’m actually more exhausted. Doing what I love is one of the few thing that recharges me. Which, I realize, sounds like I’m running on solar power that only works at night during a full moon.

When people say, “I don’t know how you do it all,” I tell them the truth:
I’m not really existing in the same world you are.
I’m in my own little parallel universe, running entirely on dopamine hits from finishing a project, teaching my kids something new, or learning obscure facts about sea cucumbers at 1 a.m.

And honestly? My world is quieter, perhaps more focused, and it works for me.
Yours probably has more brunches, though.