Saturday

Did I mention how nice Saturday was for most of the day?

I was supposed to take Shelby and Thomas out to the horse barn at 9am. Which I was looking forward to, mostly. We don't ride, we just volunteer helping with feeding and bringing in and out horses and grooming and occasionally mucking stalls. But it is fun to be around these great, calm, friendly animals and be outside and the people at the barn are wonderful too.

It started out as just an experience for Shelby, a step toward his goal to be a horse trainer when he grows up. And it's a good thing we started small like this, turns out that in real life he's afraid of horses! He thought they were all "cute" like cuddly little stuffed horses.  surprise.

Anyway, I found out that Mark didn't have to leave to go to his cave until noon.

So, since Thomas can drive, I told the two of them that they were going by themselves.  And they went, and they both had a blast.  Thomas wasn't really just dying to go, and really didn't want to go if I wasn't going.  But you know, I just told them to go. They went, and they loved it.  Thomas loved it and is willing to go back.

So Mark and I spent the morning doing nothing together.  It was great.  (we saved the adult stuff for later)

Shelby and I drove out to a friend's house, where they distribute the food bank stuff foster parents can get once a month.  It's a long drive, about an hour & a half, round trip.  Shelby talked the whole time, and I just kept smiling, and thinking about how when Thomas was little it was the very same.  In fact, if it's just Thomas and I he will still talk pretty continuously, but not quite.

Then my darling got home, later than he expected, and covered in dried mud which need to be washed off...

Open your eyes

Life is a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death.    —Auntie Mame

Busy Sunday!

Today I ate out twice!  Mother and Larry were on their way to Montgomery today, and called from I-65 as they passed into AL and invited me to meet them at the nearest interstate interchange and have lunch.  So I dashed over to Athens.  (20 mins, about the same distance as they were at that moment)  We met at Ruby's and had a pleasant lunch and conversation.  Then they headed on down the road.

I went with Thomas to his violin group.  Shelby couldn't go because when I got into the car I could smell him and indeed, he hadn't had a shower, and I wouldn 't let him go.  Personal hygiene is a struggle for Asperger's people, I'm not sure why, but it's fairly universal.  It took me forever to convince Thomas that boys just had to take a shower every day and it didn't matter how not dirty you thought you were, others would think differently.  He's really good now, mainly just because I wore him down.  Nobody's ever bothered to be insistent with Shelby, so now I'm in the wearing down process with him.

Then Beloved called just as we were in the parking lot starting to go home, to warn me that he wanted to go out to eat, just the two of us.  We met at the house so he could wash up and change, and went to . . . wait for it . . . Ruby's.  Not in Athens, here in Madison, but.  There's just not many non-fastfood places to eat that don't require driving into Huntsville.  Even then, the selection is not that exciting. But I was still full from lunch anyway, and just wanted a beer and to be away from the boys, having real adult conversation, with my beloved.  I'd have settled for Arby's if they sold alcohol.