Thanks! and true, it did, but my concern is that Meghan can be very unpredictable…

I’m glad that you made it through the market without any problems, and I can also see why you did it: risking a meltdown (and possible violent outburst) when you’re home alone with Meghan is more frightening than risking it when other people are around. I would probably have made the same choice and been just as anxious about it. I think it’s a great idea to enlist your parents to help out when Meghan is home–as long as you feel that they would be able to handle Meghan having a meltdown and help you feel safe. Your safety and peace of mind are very important here. You have an absolute right to be safe and to enlist the help you need.

In terms of preparing for future moments of being out of essential ingredients, I can tell you what we do at our house. At the moment, we’re stocking an “emergency cupboard” that will hold food and medicines that we can use when my husband or daughter is sick with a cold or out of town, and I can’t get to the market. As the autistic person in the household, I find it almost impossible to do anything on the spur of the moment, and any kind of public outing takes a huge expenditure of energy for me. Our emergency cupboard holds non-perishable containers of juice, peanut butter, soymilk, soup, honey, canned goods, etc. that I can use to make simple meals. Perhaps you can find some acceptable substitutes for perishable items like milk (powdered milk or soymilk) that you can have on hand for moments like the one you just encountered.

Never doubt that you are always doing the very best you can, and that when you have to choose between imperfect options, your instincts will lead you in the right direction.