NEXT Labor Day??

Ahhhhhh.   That's me breathing a big sigh of relief after safely and happily delivering Aaron to meet his group today.  After a long break from Paradigm for the Labor Day weekend, I fully expected a grouchy Aaron to come barreling down the stairs this morning.  This fear was further confirmed when I heard him open his bedroom door early this morning.  An early rising after a long weekend at home usually means one thing.........an unhappy Aaron not wanting to enter into his normal routine again.  It almost always points to Aaron sighing deeply while telling me how tired he is and that he can't go to Paradigm, etc., etc. 

So I braced myself when after a few minutes I heard Aaron's unmistakable loud thumping down the stairs.  His steps sounded chipper, not slow and labored, so maybe just maybe  he would be happy this morning.  He came into the family room carrying his big fuzzy brown blanket, his fuzzy black pillow that goes behind his back while he watches TV, his yucky hand towel that he carries everywhere because he never knows when he will need to wipe something yucky off of his hands onto his handy yucky towel, and his back scratcher that not only scratches his back but mostly is used to whack the arm of the couch or the ottoman - loudly. 

I still sat cautiously at the kitchen table as I tried to determine his mood.  "Mom!" he exclaimed.  "I slept well last night!"  Then I knew that he was happy on this post Labor Day morning.  We were off to a great start and I was very relieved, though I didn't let Aaron know that.  No need to call attention yet to the fact that going to Paradigm was on the horizon.  Aaron continued, "Mom, last night I was reading in my Handy History Answer book.  I was reading about the Huns!"  He paused as he always does for me to have a chance to show that I am interested in hearing more about the Huns.........although even if I don't express such interest he'll tell me more.......much, much more......about the Huns than I ever wanted to know. 

He did continue, of course.  "I've never heard of the Huns," he said.  I reminded him that he had heard of the Huns back in school but somehow he didn't seem to remember.  He was surprised that they were fighters and then said, "I thought they sounded like a religion kind of church group." 

Nuns, Aaron.  That would be nuns.  Not Huns.

And I was glad that Aaron was making me laugh this morning instead of making me do something like pulling out my hair, as he sometimes does.  We've had a little of both on this long weekend just behind us.  The hair pulling hasn't been over anything bad,  but listening to long drawn-out eternal conversations about the movie The Fly........and then the movie Ghost Rider........has been pretty overwhelming at times.  "Mom!  That guy was transformating into a fly in that machine!!"  And off he flew from there with all the talk of The Fly......and then Ghost Rider and flaming skeletons and watching multiple movie clips of both movies and trying to pay attention and answer a myriad of questions that I don't know the answers to..........or even care to know the answers to..........

Tiring, to say the least.  And Aaron still talked to matter what we were doing.  He talked when we took Jackson on a walk.  He talked when we went shopping.  He talked when we went out to eat.  He talked when we watched racing on television, pausing long enough to see his brother, Andrew, on ESPN and being totally unimpressed.  Now if Andrew had been transformating into a fly or if he was a flaming skeleton, Aaron would have been very impressed.   Otherwise, not so much.

He also talked when we played Tri-Ominos. I dug out that old game and Aaron has enjoyed playing it once again.  Of course, he also spends a great deal of time making sure that all the edges of the many Tri-Ominos pieces are put together as perfectly as possible.  Scoot, scoot, scoot all those little triangles around!  But it does keep him focused on something else for awhile other than The Fly and Ghost Rider. 

So did finding a pile of Brain Seed Pods in our neighbor's yard while we took our walk.  Oh, I know some people call them Hedge Apples but to Aaron they are Brain Seed Pods........always have been and always will be.    

He also found a new television show to watch and TALK about this weekend.  It's Animal Planet's Call of the Wildman.........about Turtleman.  This guy is wild and crazy and catches animals that are bothering people..........and Aaron loves him, naturally.  Aaron's world is expanding, I guess.  Now we'll be listening to a wild man on TV and living with one for real.

Back to reality, it was good to see Aaron be compliant and happy all morning with not one wild moment.  He took some baby carrots to give to Rosie along with a small bottle of juice.  He loves taking something to give to Rosie.  As I talked to his driver this morning, Aaron heard us saying that Paradigm was technically open yesterday but very few clients were there.  He got a wild look in those eyes of his as he blurted out, "Mom?!  Can I stay home on Labor Day??"

"Aaron," I calmly answered, "you just stayed home on Labor Day."

"I mean NEXT year!!" he continued.  "Can I stay home NEXT year on Labor Day?!!" 

Oh dear.  He was in no mood now to be laughed at, so I had to wait until I drove off to laugh loudly at his urgency to make sure he gets to stay home NEXT year on Labor Day.

And so life returns to normal after our holiday weekend.........whatever normal is for us with our special, and sometimes slightly wild, Aaron.