“Let me tell you a story of courage. A story of love.”

Yesterday, I was waiting for Krishna to finish his therapy. A blue electric auto purred to a stop next to me, and another mother stepped out.

“Hey, Neelima! How are you doing? How’s Arav?” (Names changed.)

She smiled at me.

“Both good, Gayatri!”

“You usually wait here, right?” I continued. I had seen her sitting in the basement waiting room, working on her laptop.

“Arav is here from the morning now,” she replied. “He wasn’t getting proper attention at school. So now he’s here for about six hours of therapy and special education. I pack his lunch and snacks in the morning, drop him here, and go back for work.”

“That’s hectic,” I said. “I hope you have someone to help you?”

“No,” she smiled.

“Not even a maid?”

“I can’t afford a maid. This place costs 85k a month. That’s much more than my entire salary.”

“But what about Arav’s father?” I asked. Yes, I sound nosy.

“You know I’m divorced, Gayatri.”

“Yes, Neelima. But Arav’s father can very well share the financial burden!”

She gave a short laugh.

“We are divorced because he wasn’t ready to support Arav, ever since he was diagnosed as autistic. I don’t have the time to fight court battles for alimony. I need to focus on my son. He’s already seven; it will be too late for interventions to work!”

Arav came out just then, a wide smile lighting up his sweet face.

His eyes sparkled when he saw the waiting auto. He grabbed his mother’s hand and pulled her along.

Laughing, they both waved at me.

And the auto sped away.

I stood there, watching them for a long time.

I know what it means to care for an autistic seven-year-old.

I know what it takes to soothe meltdowns.

To sit through endless sleepless nights.

To work patiently through every small task—from brushing teeth to eating to learning.

To manage therapies.

To go back and forth.

To hold it all together.

And to do all of this while working full-time, running a home, carrying the weight of financial stress, and managing your own exhaustion—

All alone.

And still smile.

And still show up with strength.

Hats off to Neelima.

And to every single parent who walks this path, quietly, with courage, love, and grace.

PS: The image is representative and AI-generated. Neelima and Arav deserve their story known, but they also deserve their privacy 🙂