North State Parent October 2019

Working From Home: How to Manage Your Time
Limit Social Media
For some people, it’s easy to set limits for others but harder
to set limits for themselves. The siren song of social media
can sap your productivity. If you don’t have enough willpower
to limit yourself, there are plenty of free or inexpensive programs
and apps such as Freedom and Self Control that will
keep you off social media or the internet altogether for anywhere
from an hour to all day.
Just Say No with a Smile
You can’t avoid every phone call or request. Practice saying
no with a smile in your voice. “I wish I could, but I have
another commitment” should flow easily from your lips. Don’t
make excuses because the most persistent requesters will figure
out workarounds for those excuses.
Guard Your Most Productive Time
To take it to the next level, figure out your most productive
work time. For some, it’s early morning. For others, it’s the
sweet spot right after caffeine kicks in mid-morning. Others
prefer afternoon or late night. This is your get-it-done time.
Likely, you’re capable of accomplishing twice as much during
these hours. That’s your time in the zone. Protect it. Avoid outside
commitments during that prime work time. Mornings are
my crunch time. I don’t schedule doctor’s appointments, dates
with friends or personal phone calls in the morning. I limit the
work calls I answer. Late afternoons, when I know I won’t be as
productive anyway, are when I book non-work events.
Ignore Housework
Focus on your job,
not other tasks. To
work at home, you have
to ignore your inner domestic
god or goddess.
Just because you’re
home, doesn’t mean
you’re a homemaker,
housewife or domestic
dad. If you were in an
office, you wouldn’t
see the dirty dishes in
the sink, the dog hair
on the carpet or overflowing laundry basket. Train yourself to
walk right past them as you focus on your work tasks.
Consider using the money you’re saving on commuting
and parking to hire a young teenager to help with home
chores. You’re creating more jobs in the gig economy. When
my helpers are unloading the dishwasher, folding laundry and
mowing the lawn, I’m free to write about career success. Ó
Karen Haywood Queen covers careers, technology, personal
finance and health. She and her husband, a rocket
scientist, live in Williamsburg, VA, where they enjoy visits
with their young adult children. For fun, Karen performs
music as a singer/pianist/songwriter, kayaks and runs.
Please say you saw it in North State Parent magazine. This helps us grow!
{
REFLECTIONS OF A SPECIAL NEEDS PARENT
BY JENNIFER ARNOLD
Three-year-old Brooklynn Heberlein started
preschool this year. She loves books, animals,
her little sister Brylee and music—she is
an especially big fan of heavy metal. She also
“has a great sense of humor” and can be “a little
feisty” according to her grandmother Renee Menefee.
Brooklynn is also one of approximately
400,000 people in the United States living with
Down Syndrome.
Typically, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes.
Babies with Down Syndrome have
an extra copy of one of these chromosomes,
chromosome 21. Children with Down Syndrome
often face many developmental and
medical challenges. Brooklynn spent her first
40 days in the UC Davis Children’s Hospital’s
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Sacramento,
CA, and at five and a half months underwent
open-heart surgery.
“Twenty-five percent of the Down Syndrome
population has the same heart condition
(atrioventricular septal defect) as she does,”
explained Brooklynn’s mom Caitlin Heberlein.
Doctors gave Caitlin and her husband Jordan
a grim prognosis for Brooklynn. “We were told
that she would not be leaving the hospital alive,
and if she did, she would not make it to two
years old.” They were also told that another surgery
was almost inevitable.
Despite that prediction, Brooklynn just recently
weaned off of her last heart medication,
and her doctors do not anticipate more heart
surgery at this time.
When asked what advice she would give
to a parent upon learning of a Down Syndrome
diagnosis for their child, Caitlin says
that connecting with families through the
Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network (DSDN)
has been “life-changing for my husband and
UNIQUELY US
October: Celebrating Those
with Down Syndrome
me.” The family has made many close friends
from around the country who are on the same
journey.
Upon learning that her baby might have
Down Syndrome, Caitlin spent at least eight
hours a day researching. Although she found
comfort in this, she says it is also important for
new parents to mentally prepare themselves for
some of the things they may find.
The struggle to get Brooklynn all of the
services she needs and the acceptance that
she deserves can be taxing. “Actually raising
her is easy, but the fight is exhausting,” Caitlin
explains. She is passionate about educating
others and doing it “in a positive light” so that
people will come to realize that despite her
many challenges, Brooklynn is just like any other
child in so many ways. “Having a child with
Down Syndrome doesn’t make my life different.
I’m still a mom. She’s still a kid. It’s not as different
as everybody thinks it is,” she states.
Caitlin also emphasizes that the best
thing that anyone can say to the parents of a
new baby with Down Syndrome is “congratulations.”
For new parents who may be scared
about their uncertain future, that word can
change everything.
For more information, please visit the
Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network online at
www.dsdiagnosisnetwork.org. Ó
Shasta County author Jennifer
Arnold is the mom of four, two of
whom have been diagnosed with
multiple special needs. She hopes
to raise awareness of many issues
that parents of special needs children
face on a regular basis.
www.northstateparent.com • October 2019 19
{
Uniquely Us is a unique opportunity
to address special needs issues and
concerns and to celebrate life. If you
have something in particular you
would like to read about, please write
to pn@northstateparent.com (please
include UU in the subject line).