I just wanted to quickly share with you the day that I shared with Aaron this week. On Tuesday, he had a dentist appointment so of course that also meant that we ate out for lunch. He came out to the van carrying his new book that he got for his birthday. He hasn’t been reading much lately, so when my niece had an Usborne party I ordered Aaron a few books. The one he chose to read first is about true survival stories. I thought he might like that subject, and I believe I chose well.
We ended up at our new IHOP for lunch. It’s near our dentist’s office, I had a free coupon, and Aaron was agreeable. Perfect!
We ordered some coffee right away on that cold, drizzly day. I poured some creamer into Aaron’s coffee, under his watchful gaze, and then he thought that Mom might need some further instruction.
“Can we twirl it and make it green?” he asked in all seriousness.
Interpretation: Could I stir the creamer into the coffee?
Further interpretation: Aaron is color blind, so just like my dad – the light brown color of coffee with stirred-in creamer is…green.
I didn’t even bat an eye at that, but I did chuckle.
Aaron is so unique on several levels, that’s for sure!
He finally narrowed down his food choice after much discussion, turning of menu pages, and closely examining every available picture.
Fried Chicken Breasts….crunchy!
Mashed Potatoes.
No. French Fries.
No. Back to Mashed Potatoes!
No Broccoli. (But broccoli came anyway and it was the first thing he ate.) (Only one food at a time for Aaron.) (You never mix foods!!)
Honey Mustard sauce for dipping the crunchy Fried Chicken Breasts.
And…the requisite Side Salad, with NO croutons.
So after the lunch was ordered and his coffee was a comforting green, Aaron reached over and took his book that he had carried in with him, opening it to the first chapter.
He was serious in his reading, and the quietness of those few moments was very unusual for me. No talk of aliens…Captain James T. Kirk…Darth Nihilus…Malek… Just quiet reading.
I loved it!!
And then his salad came, so the True Stories of Survival book was closed after he carefully inserted his bookmark…a random card of some sort that he had scarfed at some business and put into his pocket.
Every bite of salad and broccoli and mashed potatoes and chicken was eaten and totally enjoyed, as well as more green coffee. Aaron was very happy!
Off we drove to the dentist, where Aaron marched in with not only his new book, but also a DVD and a CD that he wanted to have close by for some reason. He immediately claimed his couch, crossed his leg, and opened his books. He was very serious and full of purpose.
Until he spied Tammy behind the counter!
Fresh ears!!
So up he hopped and with even more purpose, while ignoring my pleas for him NOT to bother the staff, he proudly showed her his new book.
He told her to read it. And she, as patiently as if she had all the time in the world, opened his survival stories book. She read a little, turning the page, and expressing great interest in his book.
And Aaron expressed his great excitement by rubbing his hands together in typical Aaron fashion.
“Read it!” he kept insisting.
But I kept insisting that he let Tammy get back to her job, so he finally took the book while Tammy told him how interesting it was.
And I was thinking of how interesting Aaron is! And how interesting he makes my life as he takes me along with him in every unusual and unique moment.
He wanted to read his book while he got his teeth cleaned. But the logistics of that wasn’t going to work, he realized, so he was content to supervise me as I put the book on the windowsill along with the DVD and the CD. But only after Shelly, his hygienist, had also taken a look at the first pages of his very important new book.
God bless the kind staff who didn’t act the least bit hurried or uninterested!
And God bless Aaron, who makes normal old IHOP and dental visits anything BUT!!
And who gives us yet another of our very own survival stories!
He Said What?! 