Artichokes and Pomegranates

Whenever Aaron goes somewhere with Gary or me, it's an adventure for him.  He's observant - and then he excitedly likes to talk about everything that he observes.  Everything - really.  He'll even mention that someone has orange hair, lots of wrinkles, a big nose, a weird voice - and then say, "I'm not making fun, Mom!  But they did have..............."   He notices what billboards are new or that an office building has been repainted a different color or design.  And talk and talk and talk about his findings.

When he and I went to his doctor appointment last week the experience was just that...........one fun discovery after another for Aaron.  The visit to the doctor was just the parentheses for him.  The real purpose of the trip for him was the promise of a visit to Sam's for him to point out some possible Christmas gift ideas among the DVDs there - and lunch, of course. 

When we arrived at the Epilepsy Center, Aaron marched purposefully up the hall to the elevator and pushed the "up" button.  When the door opened, he went right to the back corner of the elevator and with delight said, "Mom!  Stand in the corner and feel how it feels when the elevator goes up!"  And we repeated that scene when we left and the elevator was going down.  I'm not sure how he discovered that the corners felt different, but somehow he did! 

At the check-in desk, there's always a pen for him to try to put in his pocket.  I've learned to watch him and so he rarely gets by with that.  His drawer at home is stuffed with his pocketed pens from all over town!  And in the exam room there is a blood pressure cuff for him to try to finger, or the light that goes in his ears, or plastic gloves to try to put on.  Aaron!  LEAVE EVERYTHING ALONE!!  And he talks and talks some more as the doctor visit takes place in his random Aaron way.

After we left there, Aaron sat on a chair in the hall while I went to the restroom.  I told him to stay right there and not to get up.  He did just that - at least I think he did.  I didn't hear any sirens going off so we were good.  I told him that before Sam's I wanted to stop right down the street from the hospital at a wonderful store here called the Nifty Nut House.  This store has candy and nuts of every variety imaginable!  It was so crowded with holiday shoppers on this day, but Aaron was fairly patient as he waited for us to leave so we could go to Sam's.  And with all the fun candy there, Aaron asked if he could have some Twizzlers or Skittles.  Really, Aaron?  We can get those at Sam's - don't you want something unusual?!  Then he spied the Nutcracker, which he loves, and he let me snap this fun picture of him:

Off to Sam's we went and Aaron was in his element for sure!  Pizza and a cinnamon bread stick made him happy before we headed out to look at DVDs.  That done, we walked over to one of Aaron's very favorite parts of the grocery store - the produce section.  He loves finding unusual veggies or fruits.  I remember how years ago he was very fascinated with artichokes.  I would be looking at something else and hear Aaron yell, "Mom!! What's this?!"  He would nearly run as he brought it to me, so excited at this unusual "thing" that turned out to be an artichoke.  Finally one day we bought one, took it home, and cooked it.  He was thrilled to eat it and to experience this unusual food.  He still talks about our artichoke.

At Sam's it was a pomegranate.  "Mom!!  What's this?!"  

It's a pomegranate, Aaron.

"Oh," he said, "so it's an apple?" 

No, Aaron, it a pomegranate!  So we discussed what little I knew about pomegranates and I told him to research it later. 

He also decided to bang on the watermelons.  No, Aaron, the watermelons are not to be used as drums.

And then it was, "Mom!  What are these?"  Whereupon I turned and saw him holding up a container of blackberries.  When I told him what they were, he said, "Oh, I thought they were wrinkled blueberries!"  Hmmm.........let me look at those again!  I do love his fresh take on things!

So it went.  On the way home, he told me again how on his way home the day before he thought he saw an owl sitting on the telephone wire.  I figured out that it was probably a hawk he saw, so we discussed hawks - why they sit on the wires, what they eat, where they live - and Aaron said, "So do hawks come out at 4:00 or 4:30?"  Ah, so much to think about.

Time with Aaron is always interesting and sometimes a whirlwind as I try to keep up with his thinking, or stop him before he does the thing that I know he'll try, or say the thing that's on his mind no matter who hears him, etc.  At supper that night, Aaron was telling Gary the details of our day. 

"Dad, after we went to the doctor Mom wanted to go to this place called the Nut House!"  HaHa!  Actually, that's not too far from the truth sometimes!