Go with Mom

Today MomC and I took Middle Son to an appointment at the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.  His School-to-Work transition program is partially funding by DVR and they needed us to come in and take care of some paperwork.

I had brought in the paperwork that we got in advance.  The case walker thanked me more than once for being so thorough when I filled it out.  It brought that feeling I get when Dr.'s are impressed that I know the names, dosages, and timings of all the medications that Middle takes.  It seems like that should be normal, not impressive.

MomC brought him to the appointment.  Was at her house last night and today because they are on mid-winter break (she's at teacher).  When we left, Middle started walking to my car.  His mom told him to come with her and he kept going towards my car.  I had to tell him three times and then finally give him a little push to get him to go with her.

I always feel bad for both of them when that happens.  But especially for her.  When Youngest Son wants to stay at MomC's house instead of coming to mine, there is an obvious explanation.  He wants to go hang out with his friends, or stay home and play with his dog.  He absolutely loves dogs, has since he was a toddler.

But Middle doesn't want to do that.  He mostly stays in his room and watches TV at my house and at hers.  The explanation that comes to mind, is that he likes being with me better than her.  Now that I think about it though, there is another possible explanation.  He doesn't want to be with his younger brother, who is usually at his mom's house.

I'm glad I thought of that.  It makes me feel a little better.

A Break in the Rain

We've had rain here in the Seattle area.  LOTS of rain.  So much rain that two rivers had stage 4 flood warnings.  As it happens, those to rivers merge less than a mile from my house.  I was nervous about it over the weekend.  I packed up a bug-out bag in case we had to leave in a hurry.

Yesterday, we had some glorious sun.  Middle Son was frantic to get outside.  One of his favorite things to do in the whole world is shred grass.  When it is pouring rain, he's not very interested in going outside.  He doesn't like to wear a hood or a hat, and he doesn't like getting his head wet.  When the sun came out, he wanted to be out there shredding.  Sunday morning when I got up, he was sitting at the table with his shoes and coat on.  On the way home from church (it's only three blocks away, so we walk) he grabbed a handful of grass when we got close to our house and shredded it on the porch.

After lunch, he came to me again with his coat and shoes on.  I let him out in the back yard.  He stayed there, merrily shredding away, until I brought him in as it was getting dark.  His hands were filthy--he was pulling up mud with every clump of grass that he grabbed.

It was nice to see he doing something that he gets so much satisfaction from, even if it is weird to my eyes.

Feeling Social

Last week Middle Son was unusually social with me.  He came and sat down next to me on the couch several times, which he rarely does.  He also appeared to be interested in the game that I was playing on my laptop.  He pointed at the screen and tried to touch things more than once.  I tried to help him touch the right controls for the game, but he wasn't that social.