The One More

Aaron came into the kitchen this morning, a little after 11:00, so I asked him if he wanted some left over pizza for lunch.  He said yes right away, but then I saw his eyes dart to the clock on the oven.

“It’s not lunch time yet.  It’s 11:06,” he flatly declared.  “When it becomes 12:00, it’s lunch time.”

He turned and left the kitchen, happily despite being hungry, because hunger is easier for Aaron to handle than eating lunch at the ungodly hour of 11:06!!  And no matter how many times this scenario is played out in our home, it never gets old or tiresome to me.  I mean, some of Aaron’s rigidity or habits can at times wear me down, but his precise keeping of times in his life nearly always makes me want to laugh. 

There are some things that Aaron is going to do because Aaron’s just going to do them, almost every single time that he is given the opportunity. 

Will Aaron pull just one wipe out of the dispenser at the grocery store?  Well, no!  One wipe is so boring and useless!

Will Aaron be happy having one fork with his sausage at breakfast?  No, never!  He even gets out a spoon when he’s eating pizza!!

Does Aaron want to vary the route we take as we drive to Paradigm every weekday morning?  Are you kidding?!  He thinks his way is faster.  But I did take a quicker route on Friday, to his great dismay.  I asked him why he doesn’t like going my way and wants to go his way. 

“Because this way is far away from the short one!” he answered.  Which still left me puzzled, but I do love how he expresses himself.

A few evenings ago, he was concerned about running out of toilet paper in his bathroom.  He kept talking about it, and I hadn’t gotten a new package out yet.  We were getting his bed ready for the night and toilet paper was still on his mind.  I told him to go check his bathroom cabinet for toilet paper.  Soon he was back in his room, happily holding a single roll of toilet paper.

“There was one more left and this is the one more!” he declared, quiet relieved.

So the next evening I carried up the big package of toilet paper, which Aaron watched me open.  He watched me put two rolls in the guest bathroom holder, and then wanted to carry four rolls to his bathroom.  We settled on three rolls instead, and Aaron very seriously offered to take them upstairs himself……probably more to be sure the job was done correctly than anything else.  I mean, toilet paper is important, right?  It certainly was to Aaron at that time.

I can count on Aaron making something random like that of utmost concern, and then not getting it off his mind until the situation is resolved in the way that’s needed……or in the way that gives him peace, thereby giving all of us peace!

Let’s see…..what else can I count on Aaron doing?

I can count on him every night, after we watch Wheel of Fortune, changing the channel to Fox News.  He sits in his chair, eyes on the screen, watching and waiting for what he knows is coming.

And when he see Bill O’Reilly on the screen, he smiles, still waiting expectantly.  Bill talks for a minute, introducing what’s coming on the program that night…..and Aaron stares, a slight smile on his face.

And THEN, it happens!  O’Reilly sweeps his arm around and points at the camera.  “CAUTION!!” he says.  “You’re entering the no spin zone!!” 

Aaron laughs and laughs, loving every second of it.  Every night that O’Reilly is on, this is what Aaron does. 

And I laugh, too, because seeing all of this through Aaron’s eyes is so much more fun than just seeing it as “same old, same old” every night.

We can count on Aaron talking to us until our ears are totally exhausted.  This is especially true if we are a captive audience, with no place to run, like we were in our hotel room during our Thanksgiving trip.  Oh my, did he talk!!

And he will also tell everyone of his latest exciting happening, which also happened during Thanksgiving.  Poor Aaron slipped in the hotel tub, cutting the bottom of his foot on the drain stopper.  This was momentous to Aaron and he felt that everyone else would think it was momentous, too…..especially when he told them about it.  But he doesn’t just tell.  He likes Show AND Tell.  And my very sweet sister, Mary Beth, was the recipient of not just the telling, but also the showing, as you can see.

HaHa!  I can still see her caring face and hear her wonderful laughter. I can also still hear my surprised gasp when I looked over and saw Aaron with his sock off……and blood on it that had seeped through the bandage…..and him sitting on the floor, not a care in the world but to show Aunt Mary Beth the whole gruesome wound. 

At least it wasn’t like his VNS surgery years ago.  The scar was on his upper chest, so several people had the unexpected treat of Aaron quickly pulling up his shirt in order to show them the evidence of his surgery.  The whole thing was just a tad…..shocking…..but not to Aaron.  Not at all to Aaron.  It got to the point that every time Aaron started telling someone about his VNS and his hands headed toward the bottom of his shirt, I yelled, “NOOOO!!”  I got some strange looks for that response, but those people have no idea what I had just spared them from.  No idea at all, really.

But you know, it meant a lot to Aaron that Aunt Mary Beth enjoyed seeing the cut on the bottom of his foot, blood and all.  He didn’t think it to be the least bit strange that he sat on the floor with people all around and pulled off his shoe and sock.  And Mary Beth rolled right along with it, loving every minute and loving Aaron, most of all.

That’s what we have to do.  Roll with Aaron, expect the expected, and brace ourselves for the unexpected.

Speaking of roll, remember the one roll of toilet paper?  “There was one more left and this is the one more!” Aaron declared.

Aaron is our “one more.”  He always has one more routine…..one more thing to tell…..one more surprise…….one more way to make us laugh or sigh or roll our eyes or want to scream.    

And tomorrow is one more day for us to see what Aaron has in store.  One more day for us to see the world through Aaron’s eyes, like it or not. 

One more day to hopefully have the unexpected joy I had today when Aaron put his arms around me from behind, laid his head against my back, and said, “I love you, Mom.” 

I’ll take one more of those moments any day!

I love you, too, Aaron!