Crazymaking

I'm experiencing what life would be like if we lived in 600 square feet. It would NOT be good.

Our house, built in 1971, has popcorn ceilings that contain asbestos. Recently, Younger Son, who has low-functioning autism, has started scraping it off the ceiling and eating it. We decided have it removed in the rooms where he can access the ceiling (he loves to be up high and climbs furniture; his favorite spot to watch TV is atop the wardrobe in the living room).  This is quite a project. Before the remediation company came we had to take everything out of the rooms where they were working, including the light fixtures.

The living room and two bedrooms had to be emptied, and the things in that 800 square feet of house stuffed into the remaining 600 square feet (plus the garage). All the rooms are overflowing. Younger Son, who hates change, is very distressed. 

He wants lights on all the time, and the light fixtures are gone. I ended up getting my shop lights from the garage. It was the only way to calm him down. Last night, after waking around 1 a.m. and realizing everything was different, he spent 30 minutes walking around the house carrying his laundry hamper. He set it down, then picked it up and moved it again. I think he was trying to find someplace to put it that would make everything seem normal. He had trouble sleeping and awoke twice more.

Tonight he and I are sleeping at my in-laws (they are out of town). It took him about an hour longer than usual to calm down for sleep. One of the last things he did was walk around the house holding his shoes and socks in his hand. He dropped them in waste baskets then took them out.  The second time, I realized what he was doing and led him to the laundry hamper. He put his shoes and socks in the hamper, he was able to lie down and sleep.