Category: Uncategorized

Aaron had his visit to the dentist today to have a filling put in his tooth.  He has had strong teeth and very few fillings, so he wasn’t at all sure about what this would entail.  He’s been thinking a lot about it and asking questions, such as, “Mom, is he going to put a filling in me?”

Not in YOU, really – but in your tooth, Aaron.

“So is the filling like Play Doh?” 

If it was then I would just do it myself, Aaron.

So we set out today for his appointment, making time first for our usual Wal-Mart trip.  Our mission today was to buy Aaron a new pair of slippers – his are torn up and they weren’t even that old – and to look for a DVD.  He’s been wanting Little Mermaid, but I didn’t think it was out right now.  However, I knew that one way or the other we would leave Wal-Mart with a DVD in hand. 

Aaron began whistling when we walked in the store, and I told him to stop.  At least it wasn’t the fox whistle, which he has been known to do in the past.  He thought that particular whistle was a very fun whistle.  He had no idea of the impact it would have on the women in the aisle with him………..especially on me as I hurried to hush him up and then try to explain why he should NOT do the fox whistle in the middle of Wal-Mart…….or anywhere outside of our house! 

Therefore, I was thankful today for a more standard sort of whistle, but it was still annoying and attention-getting, which is why I told him to stop with the whistling.  He then proceeded to make popping noises with his mouth, like a cork popping out of a bottle.  Again, I told him to be quiet.  And again he responded, “Mom, isn’t that better than the farting noise?”  I guess I made the farting noise his standard of what-noise-not-to-make.  Aaron, just make NO noise, OK??!!

We finally left Wal-Mart with his new pair of slippers, the Battle for Los Angeles DVD (I told you!), and a wad of napkins that he grabbed from the deli to wrap around his thumb that was bleeding because he pulled the skin on it and now had blood on his once-clean pants.  And the afternoon had just begun.

We went to Taco Bell for lunch, where Aaron took a long time to read through all the combo meals in order to find what looked like the largest meal that I would allow him to have.  He settled on a meal #7, I believe it was (ask Aaron!) because it had the word “pizza” in it.  While I paid for our lunch, he was stuffing several sets of sporks and knives in his pocket because somehow he has to have several sets, not just one or two.  And he also grabbed enough napkins to hand out to everyone in the restaurant as well as all those in every car that was going through the drive-through.  He poured a very full cup of raspberry tea with no ice and I was thankful for the lid on top as we made our way to our booth.

We settled in and I asked the blessing, as I always do.  As soon as we both looked up, Aaron said (rather loudly), “Mom, I read in my Handy Answer Religion book that Catholics pray funny.  They don’t know how to pray.”   Oh.  My.  Goodness!   “AARON!”  I hissed.  “HUSH!!”  And he continued (a little bit quieter), “Well, they do this when they pray.”  And he made the sign of the cross.  Just because we do not make the sign of the cross and are not Catholics makes Aaron think that Catholics do not know how to pray correctly.  This isn’t the first time I’ve had to correct him about this concept and try to make him understand…………..but in the middle of Taco Bell with people watching is not the place that I want to have this conversation (rather loudly) with Aaron.  Maybe a fox whistle would have been better.

Thankfully, he got his mind on the modern art………..in a former blog I talked about Aaron’s opinion of this modern art hanging on the walls of Taco Bell.  And his opinion hasn’t changed one bit.  “Mom, the people who made this art know how, but they don’t know much of art.”  I tried to explain how the art can mean different things to different people, and we talked about what some of the pictures there looked like to us.  He then asked, “Mom, I wonder how they would make a picture of you?”  I was glad it was time to leave because I did not particularly want his opinion of that idea talked about (loudly) in the middle of Taco Bell.

We made it to the dentist’s office, which is right beside a Subway.  I was walking toward the office when Aaron said, ‘Mom!  Look!”  I turned to find him standing at the large Subway window, pointing.  Anyone in Subway would have wondered why this unusual young man was standing outside the window pointing at them. 

Aaron!  Come here!  “But Mom, look at this picture of a tuna sub.  The tuna sub looks all squishy!”  Sometimes I do wish he wasn’t so observant!

As we drove home through the country, we passed farmer’s fields and pastures.  Aaron observed, “Mom, there’s a mule in that horse field!”  He thought that this was very interesting and added, “I wonder why that mule is in the horse field?”  And then he rubbed his hands together as he said, “Or I guess you could say jackass.”  He was delighted that he got to say this word that’s almost-a-bad-word but not exactly a bad word, and thought that it was “quite funny.”  And I have to say that I laughed too……….because it was “quite funny.” 

And then, “Mom, if I’m allowed to eat again, can I have some popcorn?  Either homemade or cooked.” 

Homemade or cooked, huh?  Which is which and which do you want, Aaron?

“Well, cooked is the kind in the microwave, and homemade is in that thing you got that you pour the seeds in and it goes around and pops it.”   

And, “Mom, is Andrea going to come visit us again?”

Yes, Aaron, probably this weekend.   “You mean this Tuesday?”

No, Aaron, this weekend.   “You mean NEXT Tuesday.”

Since when is Tuesday a weekend?  We got that straightened out as we pulled into the driveway, and because I forgot to get the bags from Wal-Mart out of the van, Aaron decided that I was “quite weird.”  I will not say what crossed my mind at that point.

I’m sure Aaron will have lots to cover with Gary concerning his day, from new slippers to how Catholics pray to the………….uh………….mule in the horse field.  And IF I EVER let him eat again, I’m not sure it’ll be popcorn, homemade or cooked, until his tooth is stronger.  Those seeds are killers!

I just wanted to share a couple of interesting and funny descriptions that came from Aaron yesterday and today.  As he and I were taking Jackson on a walk around the circle yesterday, he said, “Mom, I really do think that Rosie likes me.”   Some of you will remember my blog “Aaron and Rosie” where I talked about their special friendship. 

I asked Aaron why he thinks that Rosie really likes him and he answered, “Well, at the theater on Friday a piece of popcorn seed fell down the wrong side of my throat and I coughed!  Rosie asked me if I was OK!”

Awww, that was sweet of Rosie……….but I was trying hard not to laugh at his comment of the popcorn seed falling down the wrong side of his throat! 

Then this morning he came in to the room while I was getting ready and said, “Mom, my ear hurts………..but not where the sound is.”

He then showed me that his outer ear had a red place on it from his headphones………….and the outer ear is not where the sound is!

Speaking Aaron’s language is fun!

It’s no secret that Aaron loves to eat.  One of his favorite foods is pasta……….noodles of any sort……..and macaroni in particular.  Problem is – he doesn’t care if they are cooked or not.  Yep, uncooked pasta is, for some reason, a favorite of his. 

We’ve told him time and again that he really needs to quit eating uncooked macaroni.  We’ve gone over how hard it must be on his stomach; how hard it must be on his teeth; and how hard it is on our nerves to hear the loud crunching that goes along with chowing down on “raw” macaroni.  None of this matters to Aaron…………..not one little bit. 

He continues to sneak in the kitchen whenever he has a macaroni urge and pour himself a nice bowl of noodles to munch on.  Since he knows that we disapprove and will take them away, he’s become adept at being sneaky about it.  If he gets by with putting the noodles in a bowl, then he’s likely to hide them in places………….. like under his blanket when he’s sitting in his favorite chair watching TV…………..beside the chair, out of sight…………..behind the little door in the end table…………..and I’ve even found bowls of noodles under his bed!  He’ll also wait to eat them when we’re not around so that we won’t hear the irritating crunching.

Today Gary and I walked in the house, and immediately Aaron said, “Mom!  Look!”  I told him to wait a minute while I put some things away, and he said, “No…..look.”  So I walked over to where he sat on the floor, cutting out my coupons, and he held this up:

There it was…………a very full bowl of uncooked macaroni.  I sighed.    Oh, Aaron.

And he quickly said, “I did not eat any because in my mind I did something wrong.” 

Well, how about that?  Of course, my skeptical mind is thinking…………..uh huh, Aaron, or did you just not know that we’d be home right now and you got caught?  I know Aaron, and so I wonder.

A few minutes later, as he followed me into the kitchen, he was still talking about his noble deed of handing over the bowl of macaroni.  “Mom, are you glad I used my mind in the right way?”

What could I say?  I told him of course I’m glad that he used his mind in the right way.  And again I smile and somewhat marvel at how he expresses himself.  He’s at times almost innocent-sounding, and refreshing in the way he verbalizes his feelings. 

Will he use his mind in the right way tomorrow?  Who knows?  Which is why I’ll still glance around his chair and look under his bed at some point for the forbidden uncooked noodles. 

I certainly can’t guarantee that tomorrow his mind will tell him the same thing it’s telling him today!

Sometimes I wonder if I write too often in this blog……..but I’m tellin’ ya…………..Aaron gives me more to write about than you can imagine.  If I put everything in here it would be never ending!  You probably think it already is.  Ha! 

Today was no exception.  He came home about 45 minutes ago and after greeting Jackson, I heard the familiar pounding of his steps on the stairs.  He could never surprise anybody – he doesn’t walk up the stairs, he stomps!  Into my bedroom he came, saying, “Mom! We went to the mall today!  The east one.” 

So familiar, his recounting of his days………yet somehow always different. 

He continued, “I got a Subway for lunch!  This time I got those purple onions……..except they call them red onions.”

Did you like them, Aaron?

“Well, they were hot!  I don’t think I’ll get them again.  And this time I noticed something I haven’t seen before to put on my sub.”    He paused for effect…………hoping I would ask what it was.

So I did.  What was it, Aaron?

“Pickles!!  And they were the same size as cucumber circles!!”

We’ve had many discussions about the origin of pickles, and he’s no stranger to pickles, but somehow today they merited this new excitement. 

So did you put pickles on your sub, Aaron?

“Yes.  And I’m not fond for pickles.” 

Ah……well, now you know.

“And I got extra cheese.  Is that all right?”    He knows that I don’t order him extra cheese because of calories and intestinal issues (sorry), so he knew it wasn’t really all right but he enjoys asking.  He and I both know full well that he’ll get the extra cheese next time, too.

“So Mom, that’s all I ate today.”   Another pause……….then……..”Well, we went to Sonic and I got a grape slushie.  I’m stuffed.  Can you imagine that?” 

“Oh, and when we got back to Paradigm, Cody gave me a box of Mike and Ikes.  Was that OK?”

Yes, Aaron.  And I’ve learned that when he tells me early on that such and such was all he ate, he means all he ate in round one.  Other rounds of his food fest are sure to follow.

And remember the Chinese massage?   “Mom!  I saw the guy at the Chinese massage place again.  This time I was hoping I’d say yes.” 

Oh Aaron………so your hopes were dashed again?

By this time he and I were in the kitchen, where I was getting ready to start supper.  We have tile on the kitchen floor and this obviously brought back a special memory to Aaron about his day in the east mall.

“Oh, Mom!  I was walking in the mall and I was looking down at the squares on the floor, like this.”   Whereupon he proceeded to look down at the tile and demonstrate walking while looking down at the squares on the floor.

“I was looking at the squares on the floor and I needed to go to the bathroom and I walked in the girl’s bathroom.” 

Silence.  I waited for the boom to be lowered……..the rest of the story to be told………..

Aaron, did you use the bathroom in there?

“No.  I looked up and noticed they didn’t have it the way they do in the boy’s bathroom.”

So if you were in the east mall today and were in the women’s restroom and a large, loud young man walked in looking at squares on the floor…………I hope that’s all he saw, were squares on the floor……….. I extend my sincerest apologies.

I told him, calmly, that he should pay attention to where he’s going.

“So you’re saying that I don’t need to look at the squares on the floor when I’m walking?”

Yes, Aaron……….and I’m quite certain that the women in the bathroom at the east mall would agree.

Last night Aaron was in one of his “I want to talk about everything that I may have missed during the day – before we go to bed”  moods.  It was late and we were, of course, tired.  Gary and I had both stopped by Aaron’s bedroom to say goodnight to him………but last night that wasn’t enough.

I was washing my face and Gary was working on his alarm clock when we heard the familiar thump-thump-thump of Aaron coming up the hall.  He passed right by his bathroom, though, and burst…….yes, burst…….into our room. 

Gary patiently reminded him that he COULD knock. 

Aaron responded, “Well, I wanted to say good night.”

We already said good night, Aaron.  That zinged right over his head as he said, “Dad, you know the plastic on my lamp burned so Mom and I got a new one.”  Gary told him yes, that he had seen the new one and that it was very nice. 

After saying good night again, Aaron left the room…………only to burst in soon after that.  “Mom!  Is it going to rain tonight?” 

No, Aaron, we already talked about that.  “Well, is it going to rain tomorrow?”  No, it’s not going to rain tomorrow.    “Are you sure it’s not going to rain tonight?”  I’m sure, Aaron.  “Do you wish it would rain tomorrow?” 

AARON!!  I don’t care about the rain right now!  It’s time for bed!

“OK.  Good night, Dad.  Good night, Mom.”   

Thump……thump…….uh-oh.   He turned around!!  Door bursts open……………”Mom, can I keep the keyboard in tomorrow?  Have I been doing good on the keyboard?” 

Aaron!   We’ll see how you continue to do with the keyboard.  Good night!

“So can Jackson go with us tomorrow?”     No, Aaron, I have errands to run after I drop you off.

Whereupon he began talking to Jackson, who was laying on our floor. 

Aaron!  Go to bed!

“But I wanted to say good night to Jackson.  Good night, Jackson!”

And believe it or not, he actually came back one more time………burst in the door…………..”Mom, do you want me to take my dirty clothes down to the hamper now?” 

Deep breath…………..very deep, cleansing breath………..Aaron, take your clothes down tomorrow.  Right now………..GO TO BED!!!!!!!!!!!

“OK.  Good night Dad.  Good night Mom.  Good night Jackson.”

Good night, John Boy!!!! 

Cue the closing music………..I’m going to bed!!!!!!!!

I’ve often written about Aaron and football……..how he asks who we are voting for or talks about the refs in their jail outfits and so many other hilarious comments.  However, this post is not about Aaron at all.  I’m thinking of my mother today, because of an email from my sister………let me explain.

My mom and dad loved – I mean, LOVED – sports.  They liked football, adored basketball, and for Dad……….well, he was passionate about baseball.  They had multiple loyalties, I guess you’d say, but were avid North Carolina and West Virginia fans when it came to college games, and especially loved the Atlanta Braves when it came to baseball.  I won’t even discuss how much they loved watching all their nieces play high school and college basketball. 

Their very first date, which I’m pretty certain was in 1948, was to travel from their homes in West Virginia down to North Carolina in order to attend a Tarheel football game.  Mom used to love to tell that story, with a twinkle in her eye, for she would tell how on their first date she and Jack went on an overnight trip to North Carolina.  Dad would look at her and say, “Beth!”  And she would laugh, and then go on to explain that they stayed with her brother and Dad’s sister, who were married………..which is how Mom and Dad met.  Another story for another day, perhaps. 

I don’t remember much television watching of games when we were young, but as time went on and games were televised more, then Mom and Dad totally enjoyed watching as many games as they could.  Mom didn’t really enjoy baseball a lot, but became a very knowledgeable fan as she joined Dad in watching the games, especially after they both retired.  She shared his enthusiasm and also his love of statistics, rattling off wins and losses with the best of them. 

She and Dad wore their favorite team’s tee shirts and sweatshirts, and Dad had a huge collection of baseball hats.  He and Mom made sure that they were hung just right, and Mom kept them clean.  All of this was just another example of their love and support of one another, and of how they shared so much of their lives together. 

I traveled home to West Virginia in November of 2008 to stay for a month.  Dad was dying of liver cancer and I had told him that when he called me to come and help, I would be there.  That call came on November 2, and a few days later I was with them.  We settled into a routine of sorts.  Mom and Dad loved organization and routine………….and one routine was to continue to watch their favorite teams play on television.  Mom and I would get Dad in his wheelchair, move him to their family room and position him in his favorite lounge chair, and then Mom would settle in her chair and I in the other chair. 

Dad still wanted control of the remote, which I found to be so sweet and funny.  He wasn’t possessive at all, but this had always been his job and he didn’t relinquish it easily.  However, he was so slow in his movements that when he finally got the television on and the correct channel found, some time had gone by.  Then came finding the volume button, and slowly pushing his index finger down on it.  The volume would quickly zoom up, and frustration would start setting in.  He would oh-so-slowly find the down button and again would slowly push down until the volume was mute.  More frustration and very slow maneuverings would finally result in the right volume.  I had to smile at the two of them, and wonder if I was getting a glimpse of Gary and I in our future!

The ballgames were a time of coziness and normalcy to them, and to me while I was there with them.  Though both Mom and Dad slept through a good part of the games, they still enjoyed that time together and the feeling it gave them of keeping their life the way it always was, doing what they loved.  Dad knew that he was failing physically, but he kept hanging on……….largely because he knew that Mom was failing mentally and he worried about her. 

In an email today, my sister Jan told us that this past Saturday she called Mom, now living in an assisted living center.  She always calls Mom when there’s a ballgame that she’ll want to watch in order to talk her through the process of turning on the TV and finding the right channel.  Yes, my sweet little mother even has a hard time getting the television turned on and so one of the family there makes sure that she has the game on and can enjoy it.  Jan got Mom all set up to watch the NC game and they hung up.  About 10 minutes later, Mom called Jan and asked her which team she should be rooting for. 

If anything ever showed Mom’s mental decline, this incident certainly did.  I don’t know………..she can forget the names of her grandchildren and great-grands, which she does all the time now, or not be exactly sure who she’s talking to on the phone or get mixed up about what day or time it is……….but something about not knowing to root for NC just solidified to me how much things have changed.  I kept myself in check emotionally while I dropped Aaron off to his group and then stopped for a few groceries, but on the way home the tears flowed as I thought of the pieces of Mom’s mind that are forever slipping away.  She was the most competent and industrious woman I have ever known, and now she can’t remember what team to pull for. 

Life is full of changes, I know that, but it’s still hard sometimes to see it in the ones that we love so much.  Heaven seems sweeter all the time, where we’ll be together with our loved ones………to worship and sing and talk and laugh.  

There won’t be Mountaineers or Tarheels or Braves, I don’t imagine, or televisions or stubborn remotes.  But we will have each other forever, whole and strong and always happy…………and all on the same winning team!

Aaron and I had an appointment to go to today, and while this was the real reason for our outing today:

……for Aaron the REAL purpose for him to go along was:

…….and, most definitely:

The dentist was a necessary side trip in order to make it to his real destinations.  And too bad – Aaron has a cavity, which he has rarely had, and so next week we will once again visit the dentist on the side as we take care of the more important matters of shopping and eating out.  I’m thankful that Aaron has always done well at the dentist with his cleanings and other procedures.  He’s one tough guy!  Probably the hardest part for him is that he can’t talk when his mouth is open!!  But he makes up for it as I’m talking to the receptionist and making his next appointment.  He was telling her all about the movie he’s watching now…….King Kong…….and the movie he was watching before that……..The Thing.  I pulled him away before he started talking about the movie before that one, and the one before that, and…………

We left the dentist just before 11:15.  I asked Aaron if he wanted to eat lunch first, and he said, “No.  It’s not 12:00 yet.”  Oh, of course.  Lunch is at 12:00 – not at 11:30.  How ridiculous of me to forget that! 

Off to Wal-Mart we went.  Aaron knew that we were going to get him a new lamp for his nightstand, since his old one got too hot the other night and nearly burned a hole in the plastic shade.  No more plastic shaded desk lamps!  I had a few other purchases to make, with Aaron lumbering beside me, trying to be patient.  He saw no need for Q-tips or dental floss when all he had on his mind was his new lamp…….oh, and a new pair of headphones for when he plays his computer games.  He did very well, though, and I only had to remind him a few times to not clap and to quit making those “passing gas” noises that make people stare at ME!  He finds that fact to be quite funny.  I don’t. 

He was very happy to walk into Applebees for lunch, even though it wasn’t quite 12:00 yet.  Close enough, though, so he agreed.  We were seated in a booth in the bar area, which makes Aaron ask if he can taste some Coors Light……..and then laugh because he knows that he is so funny.  “Well, Mom, I always wondered what beer tastes like.”  Right, Aaron.  Keep wondering.

He decided to get some Strawberry Tea and after asking the waitress what the Fiesta Lime Chicken was, and not really understanding a word of what she said as she described it, he told her that he would order that.  I got a salad, and with our two for $20.00 I got us the onion rings for an appetizer.  Aaron loves onion rings and wanted to know, as always, how they are made.  He wondered how they got the hole cut in that ring and stuffed the onion inside.  So once again I explained about the batter and the hot oil, knowing that we will have this same discussion again one day. 

The onion rings were very crumbly on the outside.  Aaron doesn’t like getting crumbs or oil on his hands, so with every bite he would turn and rub his hands together to remove the crumbs, then wipe them on his napkin.  EVERY SINGLE bite, mind you, would result in the hand rubbing and the hand wiping.  This is quite the process, which means that we didn’t finish the onion rings and the remainder are now in our frig……….waiting for the process to be repeated again.

Aaron’s Fiesta Lime Chicken came.   I was so surprised that Aaron didn’t ask for the Whiskey Sirloin Steak and I didn’t remind him, believe me.  He was intrigued by the little red tortilla strips that the chicken breast was laying on.  “Mom, what are those?  They’re weird looking.”  He proceeded to eat them one by one, by hand, until finally he couldn’t remove any more of them from under the chicken.  Next came the rice, hard for him to eat with a fork and not a spoon, but he managed just fine…….slow but sure………picking up every single grain of rice that dropped on the table with his fingers……..and finally eating every single little grain from his plate. 

He tackled the remaining red tortilla strips again because he had room to move his chicken.  All those funny red strips had to be eaten before he could eat the chicken.  “Mom, it looks like they stripped a red tortilla.  They look like those paper things that people use in parties.  What is that called?  Machetes?”

Machetes?  Uh, no Aaron……..that would be confetti.  Falling machetes would be rather painful, don’t you think?  And again he thought that he was very funny.

He finally managed to get all the hidden tortilla strips out from under the chicken and safely eaten so that he could then eat the chicken……..boneless, the way he likes his chicken.  He didn’t want the lime, he said, because it’s too sweet.  He changed that to sour after I squeezed some on his plate for him to try.

He decided to turn around and stare into the booth behind us to see what that family was eating and why the waitress and manager were laughing so hard.  They were very kind, as was the waitress when Aaron asked her if her job was hard and did she like it.  He bounced to the peppy music, clapped several times, asked if rain tonight might come out, tried to sneak over to the bar for a toothpick, and made sure that every weird red tortilla strip and grain of rice was eaten.  He polished off his second glass of Strawberry Tea, and then asked what was for supper.

Chicken, Aaron………we’re having chicken. 

“Is it boneless?”  he asked. 

No, Aaron, it does have bones.  But no weird red stripped tortilla or sweet lime. 

And definitely no falling machetes!!

There is rarely ever a dull moment with Aaron………at least not when he’s talking.  And he hardly ever DOESN’T talk so therefore there is hardly ever a dull moment.  We have funny moments……frustrating moments………repetitive moments………..loud moments………..puzzling moments………..angry moments……..sad moments………but never dull. 

I thought that I would share with you a few of his conversations tonight as he and I watched American Idol.  Yes, I like American Idol…………not the name, I have to admit, but I love the singing and the competition.  Aaron enjoys it, too – or maybe just enjoys having me as his captive audience so he can……………talk.

As soon as he came downstairs he started telling me about his day in the mall.  No matter that we had talked about it earlier……….he had more to say.  He’s always been fascinated by the oriental massage in the mall and would LOVE to have one – pretty much up there with how much he wants a manicure or pedicure.  He said, “Mom, I turned around and that oriental guy asked me if I wanted a massage.”  Aaron laughed and laughed after he told me about this incident, as if this was just all too funny.

I asked him if he wanted a massage and he told me that he thinks it’s too expensive.  He was having a hard time remembering the prices and then said, “It’s different prices because of the minutes added to the dollars.” 

What a neat way of describing the pricing!  I just shake my head at his descriptions.

He had told me earlier that he got a grape slushie at Sonic today.  So after the massage discussion, he took his glasses off and said, “Mom, the watery part of the smoothie got on my glasses!  Can you clean them?”  The watery part of the smoothie?  Hmmmm………OK.

He then transitioned right into talking about one of his former staff who has a baby, and that she came to visit today with the baby.  Aaron has a very hard time describing babies by their ages.  And so he said, “Mom, that baby was a little toddler kind of thing.”  Maybe some sensitivity training would be in order?

He talked about the singers and how they sang and why some of them cried and what kind of clothes they wore and what their hair looked like and why they were sad when they didn’t make the top 24 and that they were cry babies then. 

He talked about the latest movie he’s watching and what movie he watched before that and what the plot was or is and when it was made and do I want to watch the monster one and why don’t I want to watch the monster one and the movie they talked about on TV looks like it’s for kids and that other movie looked good and maybe Paradigm will go see it some day and would that be OK. 

He talked about a phrase that a client at Paradigm said and could he say that phrase and why couldn’t he say that phrase and did that guy say it because he didn’t live at home and have a family to help him and why can’t he say that phrase anyway?

He explained why he pulled the lamp over closer to him while he ate his Skittles and told me that it was because he had both red and purple in his hand and that because he’s color blind he can’t tell the red from the purple and that he can’t eat a red one with a purple one and don’t I eat them that way, too? 

When he started in on global warming and what is global warming and do I think global warming is true and why do “they” want us to believe it is and what do “they” say it will do to the weather and…………..

I was pretty well comatose and I think I agreed to something about global warming but I’m not sure what it was.  At least I didn’t agree that the baby was a “toddler kind of thing” and I did clean the “watery part of the smoothie” off of his glasses and I told him that no, he did not need a massage. 

But I could use one.

Aaron, who loves numbers and numerical order, is all too happy that fast food restaurants number their meal combos.  I’ve written before about how he comes home from his day group and tells me about the meal number he’s eaten for lunch at a particular restaurant.  Or how he talks about the #52 slushie at Quik Trip………….that would be 52 ounces!  The largest, I’m sure, knowing Aaron!

Saturday night I was up in McPherson with Andrea, so Gary took Aaron to Arby’s for supper.  Aaron recounted his Arby’s visit with me yesterday.

“Mom, Dad and I went to Arby’s for supper when you were gone.”

Really, Aaron?  I love Arby’s!

“Well, I don’t really like Arby’s a lot.  But I didn’t want to disappoint what Dad wanted to do.”

Oh, that was nice of you, Aaron.  But what’s not to like about Arby’s?

He then described his sandwich…………”It had this yellow melted cheese on it.  That’s not my favorite.”

And he added, “It was a meal #5.”

As if this would more fully describe this sandwich to me…………….a meal #5 tells it all!

So I asked, “Is that what Dad got, too?”

He flatly replied, “Yeah.  All two of us got a meal #5.”

Well, Aaron, maybe the next time all two of you go, all two of you can try a meal #4?